


In Death, Uneternal

by whisperedmemories



Series: In Death, Uneternal [2]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, Blood and Violence, Established Relationship, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, I'm so sorry, Implied Sexual Content, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Intentional Canon Divergence, M/M, Major Character Injury, Minor Character Death, Pining, Some magical elements but no spells or healing, Storing Items in the Armiger
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-22
Updated: 2020-01-19
Packaged: 2020-01-23 19:27:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 40
Words: 149,730
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18556285
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whisperedmemories/pseuds/whisperedmemories
Summary: With a war on the horizon and a virus breaking out within Insomnia's walls, chaos is spreading faster than anyone could've imagined. Of all the things Gladiolus planned for that night, a zombie outbreak was not one of them.





	1. Chapter 1

“Some party, huh?” Nyx cast a smirk over in Gladio’s direction. “Can’t even drown our boredom in wine tonight. Gotta stay on our toes for all this excitement.”

“Tell me about it,” Gladio sighed, straining to hear Nyx over the excited chatter of partygoers, music, and clinking of wine glasses. “Never thought a party like this could ever be so dull.”

“I say it’s only dull if you make it dull.”

Nyx looked past Gladio and smiled, genuinely, for the first time that night. “Crowe.”

Gladio turned as Crowe approached them, a mischievous gleam in her eyes. “You cleaned up nice tonight, Nyx. Gladiolus.”

Both men nodded.

“I got a little something here to lighten the mood.” With that, she patted the side of her jeans. “I kind of smuggled it in. I had a feeling tonight would be a bore. But no telling Libertus. He has no idea.” Crowe reached into her pocket, and Gladio caught the glint of the flask as she pulled it out just enough for them to see.

The grin that broke out on Nyx’s face told Gladio that he had recognized what Crowe had brought as well. “Drinking on the job there, Crowe?”

“Just enough to liven things up a bit.” She gestured to both of them, “Want some?”

Gladio shook his head. “It’s a big night tonight. Got people from all over visiting and wanting to get their foot in the door with king Regis before Noct takes the throne. Gotta be all ears.”

Crowe raised an eyebrow. “What, something planning on happening at this party tonight?” She asked. She gestured to her pocket and then to Nyx, but to Gladio’s relief, Nyx shook his head as well.

“King’s orders,” he said. “I’ll take you out for a drink after this is over tonight, though. You and Libertus, and the whole damn Kingsglaive. We deserve to celebrate after a night like this.”

Crowe shrugged and took a swig from the flask, tucking it back into her pocket. “Suit yourself,” she said. “I’ll be counting on that drink tonight, Nyx.” She winked at him, and Gladio rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to the party.

Crowe was right. It wasn’t as if this party was anything different than what they were all used to. And yet King Regis was adamant that not only Gladio and his father be in attendance tonight, but everyone else in the Crownsguard and Kingsglaive as well. Gladio would normally understand if this was something other than routine, but this party happened every year, and it was always just as dull as the last. Not to mention Gladio wasn’t allowed to mingle with the guests, either. Instead, he was stationed at one of the entrances alongside Nyx while he watched everyone else down glass after glass of wine and champagne and _enjoy_  themselves.

Even Ignis, who Gladio could spot at the opposite end of the room, had a glass of red wine in one hand while he chatted with another guest.

Gladio huffed. Turning his attention away from where Ignis was standing, Gladio did a quick sweep of the room, picking out exactly where everyone was.

Prompto was over at the refreshments table, pouring a couple cups of water for himself and, Gladio presumed, Noctis— who was standing beside King Regis with a look of utter boredom etched into his face.

Gladio had to give the guy credit for sticking by Regis, the king didn’t seem to be paying the least bit attention to his son, instead speaking rather animatedly to an older woman wearing a pin of the crest of Tenebrae.

As he scanned the rest of the room, he did see plenty of other guests from other nations. He could make out that most of the people were from Lucis, but he recognized others from what appeared to be Leide, Accordo, Niflheim… Gladio narrowed his eyes at a blond Niflheim man who looked like he may have had one too many drinks. Having the kingdom’s rivals here as well as their allies? Gladio sure hoped King Regis knew what he was doing. Maybe that’s why he’d ordered all these bodyguards to be in attendance.

“Looking for your boyfriend?” Nyx bumped Gladio’s shoulder, pulling him out away from his observations and back to the glaive at his side. Crowe was nowhere to be found, so Gladio assumed she had made her way back into the crowd to talk with some of the other guests (and possibly offer her flask to some of the other bored glaives).

Gladio chuckled. “Nah, he’s impossible to miss with that hair.”

When Nyx laughed, Gladio continued: “I was just figuring out where everyone was. If it’s my job to keep tabs on people, that’s what I’ll do. Speaking of which, you seen Cor around anywhere tonight?” Gladio had been meaning to speak with Cor about Noct’s training. The prince was doing well enough when he was motivated to learn, and Gladio was itching to find some new techniques that he could teach to Noctis, and Cor was the best of the best. If anyone would have suggestions, it would be him.

But to his disappointment, Nyx shook his head. “Can’t say I have. Which now that you mention it, is pretty weird. The rest of the Crownsguard is here. Dustin and Monica,” he pointed towards the crowd, “and Clarus… they’re all here. But not Cor. Maybe Regis sent him on an errand.”

Gladio’s shoulders drooped. “Bad timing. I was hoping to talk with him tonight.”

“Plenty of time for that,” Nyx said. “Let’s just get through tonight.”

“Hey there, big guy.” Gladio could recognize Prompto’s voice from anywhere. Prompto had a grin on his face that told Gladio he’d probably had a little more than just water tonight. “Hanging in there?”

Gladio shrugged. “Barely. Nyx is pretty good company, though. How’s Noct?”

“Oh, y’know…” the grin slipped off Prompto’s face for just a split second before returning. “King Regis has been talking to one of the ladies from Tenebrae. And Luna came up, so I decided to give ‘em some space. I guess she’s here, I just… haven’t seen her. I wish I could. I’d like to officially meet her, I have lots of things I think it would be cool to talk about.” He cast a sweeping glance around the room, losing his balance just a bit as he did so.

Nyx reached out a hand to steady him. “You get ahold of Crowe’s stash there?” He joked.

But if Prompto had heard Nyx, he didn’t respond. “So. I guess this party is a pretty big deal. The king is talking about betroth… betro… getting married. Well, not him. Noct. Marrying Noct off. To Lunafreya, to unite the kingdoms or something. And I mean, I’m happy for them! It’s just kind of weird to think about a wedding being so soon.”

“That’s just how things are when you’re bodyguard to a prince,” Gladio told Prompto.

“Yeah,” Prompto sighed, “I know.”

Gladio wasn’t stupid, he was trained to read people— to really understand them. He knew Prompto had been harboring feelings for Noctis ever since they had met. But they had a duty, and they all knew better: duty was always more important than feelings. It had to be. Gladio had learned from a young age that his personal life was not to interfere with his duty to the prince— it was all part of his training as an Amicitia and as member of the Crownsguard. But with people like Prompto who didn’t get into the professional, royal side of things regarding Noctis until he was older…

Nyx glanced from Prompto, to Gladio, and then over at the crowd. “So the princess is really here? I figured there was some reasoning behind the added security. But if the princess is in attendance, it makes sense that the Niffs would be here, too.”

Prompto took a step forward and put a hand on Nyx’s shoulder. Gladio couldn’t tell whether the gesture was meant to steady himself or because he was being _very_ serious about what he was planning to say.

But before Prompto could speak, Gladio heard a scream.

He sprang into action, shoving his way through the crowd, eyes zeroing in on Noctis and King Regis as the attendees began to panic. People were running toward the exits, which was unhelpful to Gladio, who was trying to get further _into_ the room.

Gladio caught sight of Crowe and he reached out, grabbing her arm. “What the hell happened?” He asked.

“He fucking _bit her!_ ” Crowe gasped, her eyes wide. Her hair, which had been done up nicely for the party, had come slightly undone and was sticking out on either side of her face. “The Niff. He looked like he was going to be sick and collapsed and when Delilah tried to touch him he jolted up and bit her! They both went down. I think she’s dead!”

Gladio glanced toward the panicked crowd. “I’ll get the king and Noctis, you make sure everyone else gets out. Tell Drautos. Make sure you find Nyx and Libertus.”

Crowe nodded. “Already on it,” she said. Gladio let go of her arm and she vanished into the crowd.

Ignis had already gotten there by the time Gladio reached Regis and Noctis. “We haven’t got much time,” he was saying, scanning the exits. “Come quickly. We’ll go through the back way, there’s less congestion. We’ll be safer.”

Clarus was at Regis’ side in an instant, and he helped the king while Ignis covered Noctis from the front and Gladio followed up from the rear. He had a feeling he knew what Niflheim soldier Crowe had been referring to, and he cursed himself for not picking up on the guy’s weird behavior earlier.

He couldn’t see the man now though, and he wasn’t sure whether that was a good thing or a bad one.

“In here!” Clarus instructed, not even turning to make sure Gladio and the others were following before he shoved Regis unceremoniously into an empty hallway, slamming the door shut once Gladio made it through.

Regis was panting, and Gladio could tell that Clarus was a bit out of breath as well.

“What was that?” Noctis shouted, wheeling around to face Gladio. “Where’s Prompto? And Luna?”

“Ravus got to Lunafreya,” Regis responded, leaning on his cane and putting his other hand on Noctis’ shoulder. “She’s safe. And as for Prompto…”

“Crowe was in charge of getting everyone else outta there,” Gladio cut in. He ran a hand through his hair. “Nyx and Libertus, too. Once of them had to have gotten Prompto.”

“We’ll find him,” Ignis added, coming over to stand beside Gladio. “The glaives are trained for emergencies such as these. Prompto is in good hands. And he’s one of us, so I trust he’ll be able to hold his own.”

Gladio glanced toward Clarus, who was barricading the door with whatever he could find in the hallway. “We can’t waste time here,” he said, voice strained, “We need to get moving. I can still hear screaming out there in the ballroom. It’s only a matter of time before the chaos finds us in here.”

Regis extended a hand toward Noctis. “Come, now. There’s no use in us staying here. When we get out we can focus on reuniting with the others.”

Noctis took a deep breath, but to Gladio’s irritation, instead of taking the king’s hand, Noctis shoved past them and started making his way down the hallway.

Regis sighed deeply, and with the help of his Shield, followed after Noctis.

Gladio stood for a moment, startling when he felt fingers intertwine with his own.

“We mustn’t fall behind,” Ignis whispered. “We’ll regroup and take stock of the situation. I’m sure your father is just as worried about the others as you are.”

“Yeah,” Gladio sighed. “C’mon then.”

The back hallway was much longer than Gladio had ever remembered it being, despite making this trek three times a week to meet Noctis for his training. But then again, he was a lot faster on his own without having to follow behind his ailing king. When Clarus finally pushed open the door and the cool night breeze came rushing in, Gladio couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.

But it was short lived.

Bodies littered the streets outside, as it seemed like people had tried to flee only to be brought down before they could make it to their cars. Off in the distance, Gladio could hear screaming and snarling.

Noctis collapsed to his knees. “What…” he stammered. “What is this?”

Gladio took a step back as Ignis’ fingers slid out of his and he knelt beside Noctis, putting a hand on his back to steady the prince.

“There’s destruction everywhere,” Clarus murmured to Regis. “How could this be… all this death, but how? From one man? That doesn’t seem possible.”

Regis shook his head. “There were gunshots, too. Amidst the panic, it is likely that people were turning on each other, or misjudging their aim. This could not have all been caused just by a single man.”

“Insomnia is in ruins,” Ignis said, turning to glance back at Regis. “What will you have us do, your majesty?”

Regis gaped at the scene that lay before them. “We’ll have to fortify,” he said at last. “Check each body in case there are survivors. Gather everyone up, find those who were separated from us, and evaluate the situation.”

“I’ll call Iris,” Gladio finally managed, wanting to make himself useful in any way he could. At Clarus’ approving nod, he pulled out his phone and dialed home.

To his relief, a sleepy voice answered on the other end: “Gladdy?”

“Iris,” Gladio allowed the relief to seep into his voice. “I’m glad you’re safe. Did I wake you up?”

“It’s fine.” Upon hearing the unmistakable concern in Gladio’s voice, Iris sounded more alert. “What is it?”

“Something happened at the party. There was… an accident, or something. With one of the Niffs. Freaked everyone out by biting someone and causing a panic, and now the whole city is not looking good. Have you heard anything at home?”

“Not really,” Iris replied. “What do you mean the whole city?”

“I don’t know,” Gladio admitted. “Everywhere I can see from the Citadel. I need you to stay put. If we can find Dustin and Monica, we’ll send them to come get you. Just… don’t leave the house. Lock the doors. Dad’s here with me, we’re both safe. We want to make sure you are, too.”

“I am.” There was a pause on the other end. “Just come back, Gladdy. You and dad both. I can take care of myself here in the meantime.”

Gladio locked eyes with his father and nodded. “I know you can. Keep me updated if anything changes. We’ll do the same.”

“Okay, love you.”

“You too.” Gladio hung up. “Iris is fine. Has anyone been able to get ahold of the Crownsguard? The glaives?”

Regis nodded, his own phone in his hand. “I’m working on that now.”

While Regis made a few calls and filled everyone in on the situation, Ignis tried to comfort Noctis, and Gladio took a closer look at their surroundings.

The bodies of the partygoers littered the streets, and he tried not to let that get to him. His father was standing right there, Gladio had to prove that he was just as capable; that he wouldn’t back down when the going got tough. After all, he had a duty to both his father and to Prince Noctis, and he intended to uphold that duty.

“Your highness!”

The shout was directed at King Regis, but Gladio looked up anyway toward the source of the call. To his relief, he caught sight of Drautos. Nyx and Libertus were behind him, with Crowe and Prompto bringing up the rear.

Noctis was on his feet in an instant, screaming Prompto’s name and racing forward to meet the approaching group.

“Your boy’s been quite the handful,” Crowe said, jabbing her thumb at Prompto. “Kept trying to wiggle out of my grasp and get to you guys. Said it was part of his promise to the king.”

“Noct!” Prompto ran a hand through his hair, “I thought I lost you guys! I saw you all running the other way, and I tried to follow, but then Crowe and Nyx were pulling me in the opposite direction and I…”

“It’s all good,” Noctis put a hand on Prompto’s shoulder. “We’re all here now.”

“But we shouldn’t stay for long,” Nyx interjected, turning his attention to Regis. “Your highness, I don’t know how much you saw, but the thing that attacked our glaive, it wasn’t human. Not anymore. His eyes were all… wild. And when he bit Delilah, she… she got all twitchy and collapsed. And then he started going after the others. Couldn’t see where he went. That was when the panic broke out. That guy is bad news, highness. The Niffs had to have planned this whole thing from the beginning. That’s why they allowed people from Tenebrae to attend. And princess Lunafreya.”

“You believe Niflheim intended to distract us by allowing Lady Lunafreya here tonight?” Regis knitted his brow. “It would make sense. Take myself, my shield, and my son out at the party, eliminate their rivals in a single night.”

Nyx bowed. “I believe so, your majesty.”

Regis fell silent for a moment. Gladio and his father stood silent and alert— Gladio knew that if anything were to interrupt them, his reflexes would have to be at their best.

Regis opened his mouth to speak, but before he could, something caught his eye.

Gladio turned to look, just barely able to make out the shape of someone lumbering down the steps of the Citadel. Their movements were sluggish and jerky, and they were making noises that were halfway in between a wheeze and a moan.

Libertus was the first one to speak the name that they were all thinking: “Delilah?”


	2. Chapter 2

The figure stopped moving the moment Libertus called out. Slowly, she turned her twitching head toward the group. It was too dark out and she was too far away to see with much clarity, but Gladio could tell how she was moving— with staggering and uncoordinated movements at first, but coming to a stop as she seemed to stare at the group.

Gladio and Clarus moved as if in sync, stepping in front of Noctis and Regis respectively.

Delilah’s bun had started to come undone, and the hem of her uniform was torn... but was it possible that Crowe had been wrong before, and that Delilah _hadn’t_ been killed during the party? From where she stood, Delilah lifted a gloved hand, opening and closing it into a fist as if studying her hand. 

“Del-” Regis began. 

With a shriek, Delilah jerked her head back up and came barreling at them. 

“Get out of here!” Clarus shouted, shoving Gladio away from them. As Gladio’s head reeled, he managed to get ahold of Noctis’ arm and waved for the others to follow. He didn’t have time to look back and make sure they were behind him; he just hoped they were. He had to get them as far away from here as he could. 

“Go, go, go!” 

Gladio heard the shouts behind him amidst Delilah’s snarls. His shoulder slammed against one of the lamp posts as he raced toward a nearby subway station, and he stifled a grunt as he pulled Noctis in front of him and followed him down into the station, the others hot on his heels. He hurtled down the steps, turning to look up at the stairs with his weapon drawn. Ignis and Prompto were doing the same, and Gladio ignored the throbbing in his shoulder as he prepared for the worst. 

There was scuffling from outside the station. Several gunshots rang out, followed by a loud thud. And then silence.

“Wh-who was that back there?” Prompto heaved, eyes wide. “It looked like one of the glaives but it sure didn’t act like one.”

“Delilah. She _was_ a glaive. But now, I can’t say.” Ignis pushed up his glasses. “I fear she was afflicted by something much more sinister than simple confusion. Especially since Nyx and Crowe confirmed that Delilah had collapsed shortly after being bitten by the man from Niflheim.” 

Gladio nodded. He had seen the man before the attack. He hadn’t looked good. If that same thing had happened to Delilah, he supposed it may have happened to anyone else the guy had attacked. “It might’ve spread,” he said at last, locking eyes with Ignis. “Whatever was going on with the Niff, we can only assume Delilah is now the same. And if she attacked someone else…”

“We may be looking at an epidemic,” Ignis finished. “Of sorts. We must be careful. We don’t know all the ways it may be able to spread, but undoubtedly a bite from someone affected would transfer whatever was in their blood into our own. We’ve already seen it.”

Gladio glanced back toward the others. Noctis was still on his knees where Gladio had shoved him, eyes fixed on the entrance of the subway station. There was no doubt he was afraid. But they _all_ were. Gladio just didn’t have the time to coddle him, he had to assess the damage. He could only hope that the gunshots were from someone on their side, and not from anyone trying to harm them.

“We need to get back up there,” Gladio said. “See what’s happened. Find the king.” _And his own father_ , but he couldn’t dwell too much on Clarus’ wellbeing. He had a duty of his own to uphold: protect Noctis at all costs. Just as his father was tasked to serve as Shield to King Regis. 

Noctis nodded, and Gladio didn’t miss the pointed glance the prince threw at Ignis, who helped him get shakily to his feet. 

Prompto turned to Gladio. “Are you sure it’s safe out there?” He asked. 

Gladio shook his head. “No, but what choice do we have?”

Ignis stepped forward then, putting a hand on Prompto’s shoulder. “We need to understand what’s happening. We can’t do that unless we go out there and see for ourselves. If there’s trouble, they may need us.”

Running a hand through his hair, Prompto took a deep breath. “Right.” He chuckled, nervously. “Sure. Of course.”

Gladio clutched his greatsword tightly and climbed up the stairs and out of the station, all of their footsteps echoing as they reached the top.

Libertus was the first to spot them, and he held his gun in the air, expression grim. “I shot her.” His voice wavered. “Delilah. I… I had to. She was going after us. I didn’t have time to think, I just…”

“He did the right thing,” Drautos chimed in, fixing Libertus with a look of approval. “We had to act and that was the only way to get her to stop.” 

Nyx waved the four of them over, gesturing to Regis and Clarus a couple yards away. “King Regis managed to get ahold of Cor,” he told them. “He’s on the phone with him now. We… haven’t been able to establish any communications with Dustin or Monica though, so Cor’s going to round up Iris and anyone else he can find along the way. Bring ‘em to us.”

“Do we know why she attacked us?” Ignis asked, nodding toward where Delilah lay. He took a step closer, kneeling beside her fallen body.

Gladio could see her from where he stood, and now that he was closer up, it was clear that she looked nothing like she had earlier at the party— before the guy from Niflheim had gotten to her. Her skin had paled considerably, taking on a grey tinge to it, and her eyes looked sunken in and lifeless. 

Gladio grimaced. She had certainly seen better days.

Ignis gave voice to Gladio’s observations before he had the chance to point them out himself: “She looks like she’s been dead for longer than just a few minutes.”

“Yeah. Looked like that before I shot her, too.” Libertus set his jaw, curling his hand into a fist. “It’s like it wasn’t even _her_ anymore. Didn’t listen to us when we tried to call her name. You saw how she came at us like that—she tried to bite us! It was like… she didn’t even recognize us. But she was our friend. How could she…”

“You say she intended to bite you?” Ignis leaned back to look up at Libertus. 

“Sure seemed like it,” Nyx sighed. “She didn’t, though. Libertus got to her first. Saved our asses. Who knows what would’ve happened if she’d succeeded?”

“You probably would have become like her.” Ignis rubbed his forehead. “We’re lucky that didn’t happen.” 

Prompto shuddered, his eyes glued to Delilah’s body as it lay crumpled on the ground.  “Let’s hope she’s the only one that guy bit.”

“Tell me about it.” Noctis looked several shades too pale, and he stared at Delilah a few moments longer before shaking his head and joining Regis and Clarus, talking to them in hushed tones Gladio couldn’t quite make out.

Crowe took a few steps forward to put a hand on Prompto’s shoulder. “The only thing I can think of is that the Niffs must’ve had this whole thing planned from the start.” She sighed heavily. “The guy that attacked Delilah? They probably brought him to the party on purpose. To kill us all or something. If they could wipe us out all at once, they would’ve won the war between us in a single night.”

“So that man that attacked Delilah— He wouldn’t have attacked anyone from Niflheim then?” Ignis asked. “Just us?”

“That’s the theory,” Crowe replied. She turned to Gladio. “Did you see anything else? I know you and Nyx were stationed at the doors, so…”

“The guy was real twitchy,” Gladio told her, remembering the way the man had stumbled around the dance floor. The way he had looked as if he would puke, or keel over, or both. “He was moving the same way Delilah was at first. I thought he was just drunk. But maybe he was sick.”

“With what? Like a virus?” Crowe asked. “Is that what you think this is? Not planned by Niflheim to win a war, but a sickness that just _happened_ to be brought to King Regis’ party?”

Gladio shook his head. “I don’t know.”

“We’ll need to be on high alert until we know what we’re dealing with.” Ignis had gotten back on his feet and moved to stand beside Gladio, arm brushing his own as Ignis turned to address the others in the group. “In the meantime, I suggest we seek shelter. I believe the man who attacked Delilah may still be out here somewhere, and we have no idea if he is acting alone or with others— or if Delilah turning against us has any correlation. We need a plan.”

“We need to find safety first.” Regis approached the group again, phone in hand. His gaze hardened and fixed upon his son as he spoke. “We’re exposed out here in the open like this and I cannot outrun these things if any more show up. Which means I will need you three,” his eyes swept across Gladio, Prompto, and Ignis, “to defend him with your life should anything go wrong. Stand by him.”

Ignis bowed. “I shall hope it doesn’t come to that, your majesty. But I am tasked to remain by Noct always. I will not fail you.”

Gladio bowed as well. “You can count on us.”

“Right!” Prompto chimed in. He grinned at Noctis, who offered him a weak smile back.

Regis nodded. “Thank you. Now when I spoke to Cor, he gave me the location of somewhere we can all meet. It will be safe for us while we wait for Cor to arrive. He’s planning to stop and pick Iris up on his way, and will get there as soon as possible. That said, I agree that we need to know what exactly we are dealing with here. 

“Crowe, since you are mainly stationed to protect the borders of Insomnia, you are more knowledgeable with that job than anyone else I know. I can trust you to protect us. I need you to ride out and secure the border. See if there have been any more breaches in our security, or if there are any more of these creatures. I will need you to do this as quickly as possible, and then report back to the location Cor has given us. Will you do this for me?”

“Wait just a minute,” Libertus frowned, stepping in front of Crowe. “You can’t just send her off alone to patrol the entire border of Insomnia. What if there _are_ more of those things? What if they gang up on her? She can’t go alone! Let me go with her.”

Regis shook his head. “Libertus. As much as I understand your concerns, Crowe is exceptionally talented in this area. Neither you nor Nyx have been tasked with that particular job before; it would only slow her down. This is something that needs to be done quickly, and by someone who knows what they’re doing.” 

Libertus opened his mouth to protest further, but Crowe stepped out from behind him and bowed before Regis. “I’ll do it, your highness,” she said. “I’ll do it as fast as I can. Get the lay of the land, report back. No sweat.”

“Thank you, Crowe,” Regis said. He handed her his phone. “These are the coordinates Cor gave me. This is where we’ll be. Please do not delay.”

Crowe studied the coordinates for a few moments, and then pressed the phone back into Regis’ hand. “Got it. I’ll take one of the motorcycles to make it even faster if you don’t mind.” She stepped over to Nyx and Libertus, pursing her lips. “So,” she said. “Guess I’m off.”

“Be careful out there,” Nyx said.

Crowe smirked, stepping forward to meet Nyx in a kiss. “I’ll be fine,” she promised. “I’m actually more worried about _you_ guys.”

“If you think it’s too dangerous at any point, give me a call.” Libertus reached out to pull Crowe in for a hug, but she shrugged away. “Crowe. Please. You know you’re like a sister to me.”

Crowe rolled her eyes. “I know. You say that every time. I’ve been patrolling this border for years now, though. Piece of cake.”

“Yeah, but those things haven’t been out on the prowl until now.”

“We don’t even know if there _are_ any others,” Crowe said. But she relented and gave Libertus a hug anyway. “Don’t worry,” she insisted, and smirked up at both of them. “Really. You be careful, too.”

“I’ll take care of ‘em,” Gladio told Crowe, who nodded back at him.

Gladio watched Crowe make her way over to the garages until Clarus put a hand on his shoulder. “Let’s go, son. We have somewhere to be.”

He nodded, turning away from Delilah’s crumpled form as they made their way onward. 


	3. Chapter 3

The coordinates Cor had given them were for a local hotel a safe distance away from the citadel. It was supposedly closed down for the night, as the owners had planned to attend the evening festivities. They were friends of Cor, apparently, and Gladio hoped that meant the owners had given Cor a key and not that he had procured one by coming across their bodies on the streets.

Regis hadn’t wanted to risk going outside the gates until Crowe returned with an update on how things looked near the border, but it wasn’t as though Insomnia was looking very safe either. As they made their way to the hotel, Gladio was quickly realizing that many of the people who had come to the party were now lying dead— an overwhelming number of citizens from all over Eos, as well as the majority of Insomnia’s security.

When they reached the hotel, Cor was standing outside to guide them in, helping Regis up into the hotel lobby. “Cid and Cindy will be meeting us if we get out to Hammerhead,” he told them, as he gave them a brief tour of the place. “The dining room should be stocked with some food for tomorrow. I got permission to use whatever we want. After what went down tonight, the hotel probably won’t offically reopen until things are under control in the city.”

Regis was moving a bit more slowly as he looked through the hotel than he had been even a week ago, and Gladio couldn’t help but notice. He understood though. Trying to keep peace and stop the war had to be enough to wear anyone out. And Regis wasn’t getting any younger.

But Gladio hoped perhaps the king was just tired. After all, it was late, and the rush of adrenaline Gladio had gotten when they were first attacked had given way to exhaustion.

Cor left some yen on the counter (a promising sign regarding the fate of the owners, Gladio reasoned) and gestured to the staircase. “Iris and I secured a few rooms while we were waiting for you to arrive.”

As if on cue, Iris hopped down the steps, giving them all hugs. “Gladdy! Noct! I’m so glad you all made it,” she said. “I packed a backpack after you called me. I figured it might come in handy.”

“Good idea.” Gladio said, giving Iris a thumbs-up. He didn’t know how long this would last, but they could use all the supplies they could get. 

Cor had stepped off to the side after showing them around and had begun speaking in hushed voices to the king, Clarus, and the glaives. Gladio turned to them, coming over to hover nearby and see if he could make out any words. If they were planning, he wanted to be a part of it. Insomnia was just as much his home too, and as future shield to a king, he ought to have a say.

Drautos turned, locking eyes with Gladio, and then ushered him toward the staircase. “You must all be tired,” he told Noctis. “We can talk more about all this in the morning.”

Gladio glanced back at Iris who was standing near the stairs, rubbing her eyes and stifling a yawn. “Yeah,” he agreed. “Okay. As long as you don’t come to any big decisions while we’re asleep.” 

Drautos smiled. “We won’t. We’ll probably call it a night soon too. As soon as we’re sure we can be safe here overnight.”

“This hotel offers packaged pajamas,” Cor called after them as they headed down the hall. “On the beds. You can’t miss them.”

Iris led them to one of the rooms she had picked out, handing the key to Noctis. “We figured it would be best to use as few rooms as possible. If you four don’t mind sharing for the night.”

“Nah, we do it all the time,” Noctis replied. He opened the door to the room. 

“You can come hang with us for a little bit,” Gladio told Iris. “I don’t know how much Cor told you about what happened but we can fill you in.”

Iris nodded, following them into the room. “Nothing, really,” she replied. “Just that I needed to come with him and that there’d been a city-wide emergency. But you said it would be Dustin and Monica who’d come get me, and it wasn’t.”

“It’s really bad,” Prompto told her. “Out near the citadel, at least.”

“And we don’t know where Dustin and Monica are,” Ignis admitted. “I’m not sure whether or not they were at the party, but I have no reason to believe they weren’t. Admittedly, I was not paying as much attention as I perhaps should’ve been.”

“Everything was fine one minute, and then the next, everyone was panicking. It probably had to do with Niflheim though, since it was one of their guys that started the whole thing.” Gladio sighed. “Of all the times this could’ve happened.”

“We _believe_ the soldier may have had something in his blood that not only infected himself, but anyone he bit as well. Which, unfortunately, seems to have been most of the people in attendance at the king’s party.” Ignis rubbed his forehead. “It’s quite a mess.”

Noctis buried his head in his hands. 

Iris snuck a worried glance at Noctis, and then she turned to Gladio. “So it’s a virus?”

“We… don’t know,” Prompto tugged mindlessly at the band around his wrist. “We just knew that the timing doesn’t seem like a coincidence. This party is a yearly event, and everyone knew Noct and his dad would be there.”

“Lady Lunafreya and the other Tenebraens must’ve been a decoy,” Ignis said. 

“Just don’t worry too much.” Gladio offered Iris what he hoped was a reassuring smile. “Stick with us. We’ll take care of you.”

Iris nodded. Sighed. 

Gladio knew it wasn’t really any consolation. Iris was tougher than anyone gave her credit for, but they were all scared and unsure. And they both knew that Gladio would always have to put Noctis first; it was his job. 

From across the room, Ignis’ green eyes flickered up to meet Gladio’s. “I suppose if we all stay in a group we’ll have a better chance of fighting these things. I just wish I knew more about them. I’ve never heard of anything like this in all my studies. It’s much harder to fight something you don’t fully understand.”

Gladio nodded his agreement. “We just have to survive. Have each other’s backs.”

Noctis finally lifted his head. “Of course. Whatever it takes.”

Iris yawned, and Ignis got to his feet. “You should go to bed,” he told her. “You must be tired and we’ll have a long day ahead of us tomorrow. If the Infected haven’t spread outside of Insomnia, news of them will be all over the papers by morning. If they have… I fear there won’t be a paper at all for much longer.”

Gladio nodded, and out the corner of his eye, he saw Prompto and Noctis mirror the motion.

“Yeah,” Prompto yawned as well, stretching his arms over his head. “I’m beat.”

Iris stood, brushing off her skirt. “Right,” she said. She offered a smile at each one of them, but it didn't meet her eyes. “In any case, I’m really glad you’re all here. Hopefully we can get things fixed quickly.”

“I hope so, too.” Even as he said it, Gladio knew there was hardly any chance at all for things to go back to the way they had been. In a single night, Insomnia had been turned upside down. There would be much work to be done. 

Iris opened the door to the hallway, peeking back in at the guys. “I grabbed a change of clothes for you, Gladdy. Figured you might need it. I wish I could’ve got some stuff for the rest of you, but I doubt anything would’ve fit anyway.”

“It’s no problem,” Noctis replied. “We’ll figure something out.”

Iris bit her lip. “Right. Okay, well I should turn in then. I’ll see you all tomorrow?”

Gladio nodded. “Night, Iris.”

“Goodnight, Gladdy. You too, Noct. And Ignis and Prompto.” With a wave, she slipped out of the room, closing the door softly behind her. 

“And then there were four,” Prompto said, falling onto his back on the bed. He kicked his legs absentmindedly. “I guess we should probably get ready. I’m not feeling so hot. Probably all the wine and the running, so maybe I’ll call it a night too.”

“Yeah, I’m beat,” Noctis agreed. 

Gladio waited while the other three bustled around the room, each getting ready for bed themselves, amidst a chorus of ‘goodnights’. Prompto and Noctis predictably called dibs on the bed closer to the bathroom— Gladio was sure it was just so Prompto could leech off the lights that reflected from the bathroom lights to play King’s Knight just a little while longer, although he would never admit it.

He didn’t mind though. They could have that bed. Besides, it meant that Gladio got to share the other bed with Ignis, and he felt as though he would never get enough of Ignis or the feeling of his lithe form pressed gently against his back, a comforting presence on the other side of the bed. 

As it were, their duty to Noctis only allowed for a few stolen kisses in empty hallways, holding hands under tables while the others were engrossed in conversation, and the occasional passionate evening off at Iggy’s apartment. It was never quite enough for either of them, but they took whatever they could get. 

And tonight was no exception. Ignis was quick to finish getting ready for bed, and when Gladio saw him slip off his glasses and fold them neatly on the bedside table, he hurried to get ready himself. If he moved quick enough, he might be able to catch Ignis before he fell asleep.

As Cor had promised, there were a set of bedclothes for him, but Gladio opted to ditch the shirt and just pulled on the pants. He returned to the bed and turned off the lamp, feeling Ignis shift towards him as he did so.

From the other bed, the light on Prompto’s phone flicked off.

“How long do you suppose it’ll be before they’re asleep?” Ignis murmured, his breath warm against Gladio’s neck. 

Gladio smirked, turning to face Ignis and cupping his cheek with a hand. “Wanna take bets?”

Ignis was quiet for a moment as he pondered it. “Not long, I imagine. It’s been a trying night for all of us. I am rather tired myself,” Gladio felt his heart drop, but then Ignis continued: “…but perhaps not _too_ tired. That is, if you think it’s appropriate. People have died tonight, Gladio.”

"Yeah. But _we_ didn’t,” Gladio replied. “We’re all safe. That oughta be something to celebrate.”

Ignis hummed thoughtfully, tracing circles on Gladio’s hip bone. “We are quite lucky,” he murmured. “How’s your shoulder? I saw you hit it rather hard while we were running.”

“It’s fine,” Gladio wiggled his arm to test it. It ached a bit now that he was thinking about it, but he’s had worse. He brought Ignis closer and stole a quick kiss. “Nothing I can’t handle.”

He felt Ignis’ mouth quirk upward. “I see,” he replied, his fingers dipping lower. Gladio sucked in breath. “Do you think you can be quiet enough?” Ignis’ voice was barely a whisper in his ear. 

Gladio fell silent, giving himself a good several minutes to make sure Noctis and Prompto were asleep before continuing. “You doubt me?”

“If past experiences are anything to go by, a bit.”

“Hey now.” Gladio shifted to give Ignis another gentle kiss. His breath caught, _shuddered_ as Ignis’ deft fingers slipped below Gladio’s waistband, his hips jerking involuntarily as he suppressed a groan.

“Hush now,” Ignis’ voice was playful in his ear. “We mustn’t wake them.” 

And well, he tried. 


	4. Chapter 4

When Gladio woke, Ignis had, predictably, already gotten up. His side of the bed was empty, and a quick glance around the room told Gladio that Ignis had likely gone downstairs to grab a cup of coffee (or two) and perhaps plan their next move with the others.

Casting a glance at the other bed, it came as no surprise to see Noctis and Prompto still sound asleep, as they probably would be for a few more hours.

Gladio rolled onto his back, eyes fixed on the ceiling, recalling the events at the party the night before. It still didn’t quite feel real. He’d always known that being the shield to Prince Noctis would mean that he would one day have to put all those years of training into _practice_ , but that was something Gladio wasn’t sure he was ready for yet.

He had to be though, like it or not. They all had to be. They’d have to step it up. He’d have to prove he could be strong enough.

It was one thing jumping in to protect Noctis from some drunk trying to threaten him in an alleyway; it was something entirely different having to defend him against this new threat, one that they knew so little about. 

_Guess that’s what I signed up for being the shield to the future king_ , he thought. Things would only get tougher from here on out.

With a heavy sigh, Gladio dragged himself out of bed, running a hand through his sleep-mussed hair. Iris would call him out on not brushing it; she always did, but he thought it wasn’t all _that_ bad the way it was. Nothing his hands and a little water couldn’t fix.

Besides the hotel pajamas, he only really had the outfit he’d worn to the party along with him, but Iris had mentioned that she’d packed him a change of clothes. He was about to go look for her, but when he opened the door to the hallway, he spotted clothes folded neatly in a bag next to his door. He smiled to himself and changed quickly, being careful to shut the door quietly when he left the room in search of the others.

Not like Prince Charmless would wake no matter how much noise he made, but Prompto was a wild card. Most days, he wouldn’t bother to try and keep quiet, but they kind of earned it after things spiraled so out of control after the party last night. If they both wanted a little extra sleep, more power to them. They’d have to get up soon enough, anyway.

“I see you found the clothes I left you,” Iris noted as Gladio made his way to the main lobby. “… but you didn’t brush your hair.” She rolled her eyes, gesturing to the other room. “There’s food over on the buffet table if you’re hungry. Ignis already found the coffee.”

“Course he did,” Gladio replied, good-naturedly as he read the room. Iris was the only one who was smiling. The others, save for Ignis, were sitting silently around a table in the dining area, a few untouched plates of food pushed aside as they glanced up to look at Gladio.

Nyx, Libertus, and Clarus were on the side of the table that faced Gladio, lips pressed together. Nyx had dark circles under his eyes. Libertus’ face was red. Clarus locked eyes with Gladio, as if issuing him a silent command to join them at the table.

Seemed like he was about to hear some bad news, then. It was too damn early for bad news.

Instead of going over to sit in the empty chair beside Clarus, Gladio sighed and shook his head, walking past where they were sitting and over to the buffet table, where he filled a plate with some meat and eggs and poured himself a cup of coffee. He chugged half the cup in one sip— warm, but not hot, which meant the older members of the group must’ve been up for some time.Possibly even before Ignis.

Speaking of, Ignis was standing up against the wall beside the buffet, taking a long drink of coffee as he watched Gladio approach. “Good morning,” he said.

“Morning,” Gladio mumbled back. Sighed deeply. “Looks like they’re off to a great start.” He nodded towards the rest of the group huddled around the table, completely ignoring everything else as they resumed speaking in hushed tones.

“Crowe hasn’t returned,” Ignis supplied. “They’re afraid something’s happened to her. Libertus in particular. I believe he wants to pull out and return to Galahd where the rest of his family is. The others don‘t agree; they believe it’s too risky, especially since they cannot confirm what happened to Crowe. Nyx worries too, but is probably the only one to think she might still be out there.”

“Think those creatures got her?”

Ignis took another long sip of his coffee. “The Infected? I can’t be sure. None of us can. Although I admit it doesn’t look good. And seeing as the king sent her to scout out around the border, we don’t know whether things are better or worse outside than they are within the city walls. Insomnia is bad, but out there may be even more dangerous.”

“Probably shouldn’t have sent her out alone after all,” Gladio sighed. “Don’t know what we were thinking.”

Ignis sighed. Adjusted his glasses. “If anyone was equipped to handle things at the border, it would have been Crowe. Anyone else would’ve just slowed her down and dwindled our security further by splitting us up. We’re out of our league here, Gladio. Even the king seems to be at a loss. Insomnia used to be safe. But now…” he shook his head. “I can only hope things are better in Hammerhead. I believe there are still plans to head out that way.”

“Yeah.” Gladio took his time with his breakfast. The coffee helping to wake him up a bit. “This stuff doesn’t even hold a candle to your cooking, by the way,” he told Ignis as he ate.

Ignis crinkled his nose and shook his head, but Gladio knew he appreciated the compliment nonetheless, if the way Iggy tried to hide his smile behind his mug was any indication. 

“Gladiolus, come join us.” Clarus called from over at the table, and Gladio muttered a curse under his breath at the verbal summoning. He was hoping to have been able to avoid the commotion for a little longer, but so be it.

Gladio offered Ignis the rest of his coffee and went to sit in the chair Clarus pulled out beside him.

Regis rubbed his temples. “It appears as though Crowe will not be joining us,” he told Gladio. “I have been unsuccessful in my attempts to reach her, as have Nyx and Libertus. We cannot wait here for much longer, we must leave.”

“So what, we’re just gonna abandon Insomnia?” Gladio asked, glancing at his father. “We can’t run away from something like this. It might be even worse outside the city, and wouldn’t that be a bad message to send to our people? If Crowe is dead, that means something had to have killed her. Maybe it was something from beyond the gates.”

Regis sighed. “Insomnia is in ruins, Gladiolus. We are unable to determine how many civilians remain in the city and most of our security has been completely wiped out. People are leaving. It would be wise for us to do the same. If we stayed, the Citadel would need extensive work— work that is unsafe to try and complete until we rid our city of those creatures.”

“Nothing has ever driven us out like this before,” Gladio protested. “We can’t just leave.”

“It won’t be permanent, Gladiolus. But as of now, there simply are not enough of us left who are trained to fight. Believe me, I would wish to remain here as much as you—this is my city, and I do intend to take it back as soon as we are better prepared.”

“And how are we supposed to do that from out there?” Gladio snapped. “With all due respect your highness, we can’t defend our city if we run from it.”

“Gladiolus,” Clarus warned, but Regis held up a hand.

“He makes a fair point.” Regis gestured to his cane. “But I am getting older now. Trying to keep this war at bay has drained much of my energy over the years, and you can all see that. It is one thing negotiating with Niflheim through words, but those creatures we saw last night could not be reasoned with. I could not defend my city last night, and as a result, it was attacked from the inside. Of all the glaives and members of the crownsguard that attended that party last night, we are the only ones accounted for. That was our security, our main line of defense. What is an old king and his shield supposed to do against an army of ravenous Infected soldiers alone? I will not risk you all by bringing us into a battle we are unprepared for.”

Gladio frowned, leaned forward. “So what then,” he growled. “You’re just going to give up? All of you? And run?” He looked to Cor for some sign of support, but the marshal would not look up and meet his gaze. “Not even you, Cor? We’re weak now without the big numbers then, is that it? If we can’t fight and defend Insomnia when the going gets tough, we don’t deserve a Crown City.”

“Gladiolus!” Clarus stood, slamming his fist on the table. “That is quite enough. It is the king who calls the shots around here, not you. We will stand by his side and follow orders as he commands. If the king decides we must leave and find backup, then that’s what we do. Am I clear?”

Gladio fell silent, amber eyes fixed angrily upon his father. “I’ll go first, then,” he said at last. “I’ll scout the border and report back to you about the conditions outside the city.”

“You will do no such thing,” Clarus ordered. He glanced at Regis. “We have established communications with Cindy Aurum. We are to meet her. Hammerhead is not currently overrun but it might be before long. We must rally together anyone who is still alive.”

“And then what?” Gladio snapped. “Where will we go? What will we do if we don’t fight?”

“We do plan to fight,” Regis told him, the way he could seem so _calm_ about this grating on Gladio’s nerves. “This will be a temporary retreat, during which I will seek to gain assistance from our allies around Lucis. Any survivor willing to fight will be invaluable to winning back Insomnia from these creatures, and I believe people will be more apt to listen should their king ask for their assistance directly. Please do not assume that I haven’t given thought to all my available options.”

“We have plans to take refuge in Lestallum,” Ignis spoke from somewhere behind Gladio. In his blind rage, he hadn’t even heard Ignis approach. “The Cleigne region is far from here, hopefully it will allow us to leave Niflheim’s destruction behind. Since Lestallum is near Tenebrae, it is unlikely that Niflheim would attack us there. Furthermore, should they find out our plans and seek to attack, the women in the Lestallum workforce are highly skilled and it would not be easy for the army to push them aside, as it would risk Niflheim’s allegiance with the people there.”

“You gonna ask what I think?” Gladio asked.

“No,” Clarus replied. He took a deep breath. “We have settled it. We will round up Cid and Cindy. Regis will try to contact Lady Lunafreya.”

“Hopefully no harm has befallen her and we will be able to confirm her whereabouts,” Drautos mused. “Time will tell.”

“Wherever she is,” Regis sighed, “We know she is with her brother, and that Ravus will not allow any harm to come to her if he can help it. I can only hope they’re making their way far from Insomnia, and that we will hear from her soon.”

“Shall we leave, then?” Ignis asked. “We should head out sooner rather than later. The more we wait around, the more likely it is the Infected will find us.”

“We should.” Regis got to his feet with the help of Clarus and his cane.

“The others still asleep?” Nyx asked Ignis, who nodded.

“I’ll go wake them now.”

***

When Prompto came downstairs muttering to Ignis about a headache and lack of sleep, Noctis following bleary-eyed soon after, Regis wasted little time briefing them on the plan.

It still didn’t strike Gladio as a good one, but his father made it very clear that it was not up for debate, and he didn’t see any point in trying to oppose him twice in one morning. He respected his father, but he couldn’t help but feeling like this wasn’t their best course of action.

“Lestallum?” Noctis asked, munching on a piece of toast, still not fully awake.

Regis nodded. “After making a quick stop in Hammerhead. Lestallum is affiliated with both Lucis and Niflheim, so we will be welcomed and safe there, as it would be unwise of Niflheim to attack it. We trust they know that.”

Prompto glanced from Regis to Noctis, brows drawn together in concentration. Gladio had to hand it to him— he and Ignis had been raised learning how to help and serve Noctis as their future king, but Prompto was just a high school friend who got dragged into a mess that was too big for him. And he was handling it just as easily as he had handled everything else, had handled being best friends with the prince of Lucis. And handling it with a lightheartedness that Gladio still wasn’t entirely used to.

Prompto glanced at Noctis and nodded. “Right,” he said, with a definitive nod. “We should probably go.”

“Cor secured the Regalia and some motorbikes for us while the rest of you were sleeping,” Nyx told them.

“It wasn’t too hard,” Cor replied, as they left the hotel. “We just need to be careful. The Infected were everywhere. It took some maneuvering to get to the garage, but thankfully once I got there, there weren’t any people in there. It’s a bit of a walk from here, but I didn’t want to park it too close to our hotel in case anyone tried to follow.”

Ignis suggested they stock up at one of the vendor’s places for food and a couple extra clothes for the trip, but when they left the hotel, many of the shops were barren, their stocks mostly gone.

“Hello?” Iris called, and Gladio cupped a hand over her mouth, hissing under his breath.

“Not so loud,” he told her. “There’s something wrong. There were way more bodies last night. Now it’s like streets are _empty_.”

“Not completely,” Noctis pointed out. “There are bodies over there, looks like they were shot. But you’re right. There‘re a whole lot less than there were last night.”

Gladio studied the remaining bodies. A couple of them were facedown, blood pooling around them, but he could tell some of the others had been killed from a shot— or in some cases, multiple shots— to the head. He frowned and pulled a protesting Iris behind him.

“Looks like some of our dead just got up and walked away,” Nyx muttered. 

Gladio caught Libertus scrunch up his face and shoot a glance at Nyx, which went completely ignored as Nyx continued: “Just like Delilah and that Niff did at the party. Which means they could be anywhere. We have to be on our guard.”

“But if the vendors all abandoned their shops,” Prompto cut in, “that means it’s up for grabs. Right?”

“We don’t know if the vendors are dead, they could merely just be hiding as we did,” Ignis pointed out. But even as he spoke, he was sizing up the stocks anyway, a soft frown on his face. “I suppose if we take what we want, we can just leave some yen on the table equal to the normal price.”

Prompto nodded, picking up a bag off the table and holding it up to show the others. “We could carry supplies in these,” he said. “Looks like there’s a few.”

Ignis set the coins down beside the bags. “Good idea,” he mused. “There doesn’t appear to be any clothes in any of the shops here though. Perhaps we’ll have more luck in Lestallum. I’ve heard their shops are plentiful.”

“We can only hope.” Gladio didn’t mean to sound short, but he still felt as though abandoning Insomnia to fall to their enemies wasn’t their best choice here. They should stand their ground and fight, like they had with all their past battles against Niflheim.

“Let’s make haste to the Regalia,” Ignis said, as he filled up one bag with supplies and handed it to Gladio.

The streets on the way to the car were eerily empty. Iris hung close to Gladio, carrying a backpack of her own that Gladio hoped had food in it, and maybe another change of clothes if he was lucky. It was good thinking on her part, he had to give her that.

Clarus opened the car door for Regis. “It only seats five, so we figured the rest of us would have to take motorcycles and group up. Regis and Prince Noctis ride in the car, of course. Along with Iris, Prompto, and Ignis—It would be wise to have Prince Noctis’ advisor at his side.”

“Understood.”

“Fine by me,” Gladio replied. “Dad, you and I can take two motorcycles and ride in front of the car.”

“Nyx and I will each take a motorcycle and bring up the rear,” Cor directed. “Libertus can ride with me, and Drautos can ride with Clarus. I believe that will be an even distribution of skill sets and power in case anything goes wrong.”

“Be wary of anyone you see.” Nyx shoved his gun in his belt and passed helmets around. “We stay in formation until we get to the gates unless there’s an emergency.”

Gladio didn’t miss the pointed glance Nyx directed toward Libertus, but the other man seemed to just shrug and climbed on his bike, the others following suit. Once they fastened their helmets and Regis got the car started, Gladio and Clarus kicked their bikes into gear and headed out.

The pace was slow, and it shocked Gladio to see just how barren Insomnia looked. Even on quiet days, there was always enough going on to make things feel lively, but now it just looked completely deserted.

Where were all the bodies?

Out of the corner of his eye, Gladio spotted Drautos gesturing to Clarus, and he followed Drautos’ finger to a helmet that lay on the ground. There were scratches all over it, and Gladio held up a hand to stop them.

Clarus brought his motorcycle to a stop, and from behind them, Regis and the others braked their vehicles as well.

It seemed like everyone was holding their breath as Drautos stepped off Clarus’ bike, approaching the helmet warily. He kicked it gently with his boot, and then bent down to pick it up, tilting it up to the light to get a better look.

“Th- that’s Crowe’s!” Libertus shouted. He barely gave Cor enough time to come to a stop before hopping off the motorcycle.

Cor reached out a hand to try to stop Libertus, but the other man effortlessly avoided his grasp. He wrenched the helmet out of Drautos’ grip, hugging it protectively against his chest.

“This is her helmet,” Libertus said again. “It’s got to be.”

“We don’t know that.” Nyx would have sounded calm to anyone else, but Gladio had been around his friend long enough that he picked up the slight waver in his voice. “It could be anyone’s helmet. I’m sure some people tried to escape on motorcycle when they realized that going on foot was just putting them in line to be attacked.”

“No,” Libertus snapped. “It’s hers. She would have come right through here,” he pointed ahead, “the main gates are a straight shot from where we are now. And we _both_ know Crowe would have come back if she’d been able to. She’s one of the toughest people I know.”

Cor finally brought the bike to a stop and stepped over, taking his own turn examining the helmet. Gladio leaned forward, anxious to hear what Cor would say as he turned the helmet around several times, studying it from every angle.

Cor let out a heavy sigh. “It might be hers,” he said. “It’s got the symbol of the Kingsglaive on it; it belongs to one of ours, and Crowe is the only one I know who took one of our motorcycles.” He paused only briefly before continuing, putting a hand up to stop Libertus from cutting in. “But it’s just a helmet. It is possible that Crowe lost it in a scuffle. Or maybe she felt that she would be better off without it. Either way, there’s still a bike out there, and she might still be on it, or be making her way back to us as we speak.”

“That may be the case,” Clarus said, voice quiet, yet commanding. “But we must get out of here before discussing this further, or we may not live to. Look:”

He pointed, and Gladio’s blood ran cold when he realized Clarus’ gloved finger was directed at him _._ Wait—not him— _behind_ him. Turning, Gladio realized what Clarus had seen.

A horde of people were shuffling around some abandoned buildings just a block away. It was too far to see any of them clearly, but by the jerky, uncoordinated way they were moving, it was unmistakable that they were Infected.

“We need to get outta here,” Nyx pulled his helmet back on, and slipped the abandoned helmet over to Iris in the backseat of the Regalia. “They’ll notice us the second we rev our engines, so as soon as we get going we gotta be  _gone._ ”

Libertus shook his head. “I’m not leaving without Crowe,” he said. “I know she wouldn’t leave any of us behind if there was even the slightest possibility we were alive.”

Nyx stepped forward, reaching an arm out to Libertus. “I know,” he said. “I’m with you completely, but if she is alive, she wouldn’t forgive any of us if we died here.”

“We can debate this later, get back on your motorcycles and let’s get out of here before we’re spotted,” Drautos ordered.

As if to punctuate his order, before anyone had time to argue further, one of the Infected stopped moving toward the building and turned toward the group, glasses askew on its face, the head tilted unnaturally to one side.

“Wait,” Nyx breathed. “That looks like…”

“Dustin,” Clarus finished. “Or at least it was. Everyone on your bikes, _now_!”

Dustin let out a low groan, and then to everyone’s horror, started racing toward them. Gladio kicked his bike into gear, the others following suit. If Dustin hadn’t alerted the other Infected when he’d started running, the rev of the engines certainly caught their attention as the group started up their motorcycles.

Gladio’s heart was pounding as he sped up, making sure to keep pace with Clarus and Drautos opposite him and still shield the Regalia. The creatures weren’t just behind them, though—Gladio could see them coming up from the streets to his left as well, and in front of them.

Clarus was shouting something, but between how fast Gladio was going, the way his helmet was muffling sounds, and the groaning of the Infected, Gladio couldn’t make out what his father was saying. He just knew that they couldn’t stop until they got to the gates.

And then, up ahead in the middle of the road, he spotted a motorcycle. It was on its side, abandoned. But if the helmet they had found earlier had been any indication, it had to belong to Crowe. Just as Gladio began to slow down, he saw Clarus come to a stop and hop off.

Drautos took over for Clarus and switched to the driver’s seat, speeding around the fallen motorcycle and up ahead of the group—no doubt to make sure the rest of the path would be clear for the Regalia to drive through once someone moved the motorcycle out of the way.

A job that was being left to Gladio and his father, then. Gladio brought his bike to a stop and jumped off, falling into step with Clarus. They both reached the fallen motorcycle at the same time, Gladio grabbing it by the handlebars and dragging it out of the way of the Regalia while Clarus kept a lookout for the Infected that had been chasing them, his weapon drawn.

Gladio managed to pull the motorcycle into an alleyway when a groan from behind him sent shivers up his spine. He wheeled around and summoned his greatsword just as he came face to face with Monica Elshett.

Her eyes looked sunken in, a deathly pallor on her face as she groaned again and made a gurgling noise under her breath that sounded like she might be choking. Glancing down, Gladio’s eyes fell upon the spot where her shoulder met her neck. It had been torn out, the blood still dripping from the open wound and down onto her uniform. Whatever had happened to Monica, with a wound like that, she should be dead.

And yet she was standing before Gladio, eyes glassy and moving straight for him. He didn’t have time to think. He raised his greatsword, preparing to aim at the wound in her neck that all logic said should have killed her. _Just bring it down,_ he thought. But he—hesitated.

Clarus didn’t. He forced his way between Gladiolus and Monica and brought his broadsword down on her; the blade connecting with the open wound and severing her head from her neck. The body dropped.

Gladio didn’t even have time to catch his breath before Clarus grabbed hold of his shirt and pulled them both onto Gladio’s motorcycle.

“Go! We need to follow Drautos,  _now_!” He shouted, pointing toward the direction Drautos had gone. Gladio hoped that he’d managed to get the motorcycle far enough out of the way for Regis to be able to follow them as he sped through the open gates of Insomnia.


	5. Chapter 5

Gladio had hoped that once they’d gotten out of the main city, the route to Hammerhead would be relatively clear, but that wasn’t the case.

The horde of Infected may not have been able to keep up with the group on foot, but they still weren’t safe yet. Cars littered the roadside, some completely abandoned, others with the bodies of people Gladio recognized from the party. Some appeared to be infected, and one man locked eyes with Gladio as he drove by and slammed his head against the car window.

Amongst the bodies of civilians, he could also see Niflheim soldiers slumped against the wheels. What had happened to them all? Had they been bitten?

Drautos had stopped a safe distance up ahead, helmet under his arm as he scanned the road ahead of them. “I don’t believe it,” he said. “I thought it would be smooth sailing once we were out of Insomnia, but look at of this. It won’t be easy to navigate, that’s for sure.”

Clarus stepped off the bike when Gladio brought it to a stop and made his way toward Drautos. Gladio followed behind him, trying to shake the image of Monica’s head cracking against the pavement from where it had burned itself into his mind. Clarus didn’t seem the least bit shaken or guilty, so why was Gladio feeling any different?

“Do you think the Regalia can make it out to Hammerhead through this?” Gladio asked, gesturing to the multitude of vehicles around them in an attempt to return his focus to the task at hand. 

“It should,” Drautos replied. “But once it’s far enough out, I don’t think it would be wise to continue using it on the road. The Reglia might just impede us, and I wouldn’t be surprised if some abandoned cars end up blocking the middle of the road. It would be wise seeing if Cid or Cindy have more motorcycles, or perhaps can upgrade the Regalia so it could have off-road capabilities. That would aid us greatly.”

“There are Niflheim soldiers in some of these cars here,” Gladio pointed out. “I saw some of them last night. But if this whole thing is Niflheim’s doing, why have they left their own to die?”

Clarus shook his head. “Niflheim has their own agenda,” he replied, gruffly. “Come now, Gladiolus. We shouldn’t delay.” He turned to the Regalia, stepping over to the window and speaking quietly to Regis. 

“We’ll continue to Hammerhead,” he informed the others. “And then we’ll re-evaluate our plan.”

“No!” Libertus shouted, climbing off Cor’s motorbike and over to the others. “Did you see that back there? That motorcycle in the middle of the road—it was Crowe’s! It had to be hers and no one did anything! You—” Libertus turned to Gladio, eyes narrowed and face flush with anger. “You just moved it out of the way like it was just a minor inconvenience, and that was Monica back there too and,” he jabbed his finger toward Clarus then, “ _You_ just killed her without even a second thought. Like she was our enemy!”

“She was our enemy!” Clarus replied, frowning. “You didn’t see her up close. Gladiolus and I did. She wasn’t the Monica we knew anymore.”

“But there might still be a way to reverse it!” Libertus shot back. “How could you just kill her like that when there still might have been a way to save her?”

“There wasn’t time to hesitate!” Clarus shot back, and Gladio could feel his father’s angry gaze directed at him, now. “If you had seen the look in her eyes you would have known that she would have killed any of us without even a second thought.”

 “And the motorcycle might’ve been Crowe’s, but I didn’t see her out there.” Gladio added. Even in his haste to remove it from the road, he hadn’t missed the kingsglaive symbol on it— he knew full well who it belonged to.

“You didn’t even fucking _look_ for her!” Libertus spat. He turned away. “That’s it. I’m done. I have family back in Galahd. They need me— I need to get back there before this shit reaches them. At least they need to know someone cares enough to want to save them.”

“Libertus!” Nyx stepped in and grabbed Libertus’ arm, bringing him over to his motorcycle. “Look, we’re all hurting. But fighting amongst ourselves won’t help anyone. We need to work together. We can talk about this once we get to Hammerhead, but those things aren’t going to stop chasing us just because we got through the gate. They’ll catch up if we waste anymore time, we need to get moving.”

Libertus fixed Nyx with a glare. “Some hero you are,” he snapped, but relented, climbing onto the back of Nyx’s motorbike.

Gladio turned shakily back to his own. Nyx was right. Those creatures wouldn’t stop coming after them. They had to put as much distance as they could between themselves and the Infected, and it would be best if they could reach Hammerhead before the heat of mid-day hit them.  

***

“Come on in.” Cindy waved them into the garage, looking grim. She pulled down the garage door after Regis parked and took off her hat, wiping her forehead. “How y’all holding together? The news about Insomnia’s all over the radio.” Regis opened the car door and Cindy reached out to help him. “Glad to see ya here in one piece.”

“And I, yourself,” Regis said, taking Cindy’s offered hand to help step out of the Regalia. “Thank you for allowing us to stop here.”

“Don’t you worry about that. Paw-Paw’s in the station. I reckon he’ll want to see you; he won’t admit it, though. I heard about that falling out y’all had darn near forever ago. Think you can patch things up with him?”

“We’ll certainly see,” Regis replied. 

Cindy turned to take a better look at the Regalia. “She could use a quick clean,” she said, patting the hood of the car. “I’ll do what I can to fix her up tonight. I imagine y’all want to get outta here as quick as you can.”

“Actually,” Regis said, leaning heavily on his cane. “I don’t know if it will be much use to us on the roads. There were cars all over on the roadsides on the way here, and I imagine if this continues to spread, people will be trying to get as far away as they can. Insomnia…” he sighed, heavily. “I’m afraid Insomnia has fallen.”

Noctis, Prompto, and Iris clambered out of the car while Regis spoke with Cindy about car repairs and potential upgrades. Iris clutched the helmet in her arms, hugging it tightly to her chest as she sought out Nyx. Gladio didn‘t hear the exchange, but he could see Iris telling Nyx something and handing him Crowe’s helmet. She returned to where Noctis was standing.

She looked a little lost. Noctis and Prompto did, too. None of them had been outside the city before. Gladio had seen pictures of what life was like beyond Insomnia, but there was a limit to how much studying could prepare him. He’d always wanted to take a road trip, maybe explore some new areas and sleep out under the stars—but not under circumstances like these.

Iris appeared to be busying herself by taking stock of the things that she’d brought in her backpack, and Prompto and Noctis hovered nearby. Prompto, at least, was feigning some interest, but Noctis was far more focused on Regis and the other older members of the group. 

Gladio followed Noctis’ gaze, watching Regis and the others follow Cindy into the station, and spotted Ignis step out of the car from the corner of his eye. He headed over to him with a gruff, “Hey”.

Ignis nodded back at him, readjusting his glasses. “That was… Crowe’s motorcycle back there, was it not?” He asked. 

"Yeah,” Gladio replied. “And I ran into Monica as I was moving the motorcycle outta the way. She… she was Infected. She may have gotten Crowe. I…” he trailed off. “I should have been the one to kill her; my dad shouldn’t have had to step in. But I saw Monica and all I could think was it’s _Monica_. And I hesitated. Some shield I am if I hesitate every time someone’s in danger.” 

Ignis put a hand on Gladio’s arm. “We’re all new to this,” he said. “I likely would have done the same had I been in your situation. Perhaps once we have more information about this, we will better understand how to act moving forward.” 

Gladio knew he was just saying that to make him feel better. Ignis wouldn’t have faltered. He would have just done what needed to be done and left it at that. That’s how _he_ needed to be. 

“Yeah,” Gladio sighed, but he still couldn’t stop thinking about it. Whether or not Monica had known what she was doing, it was still her body. Which meant there still may have been a chance of curing her from whatever it was that Infected her, like Libertus had said. But there was no coming back from what Clarus had done.

“Gladiolus,” Ignis was saying, and Gladio turned his attention back to him. “We should rejoin the others. I believe I heard Cindy say Cid was in the station.” 

Gladio nodded. He patted Ignis’ arm. “How’re you holding up?” He asked. “Have you gotten in touch with anyone else that had been at the party? Your uncle?”

Ignis glanced down, but not before Gladio caught the frown on his face. “No,” Ignis admitted, after a moment’s pause. “… But I suppose I am also to blame for that; I have not yet tried to contact him either.”

“Will you?”

The look Ignis gave him was answer enough. 

They both sighed, and Ignis cleared his throat. “Prompto’s waving at us. Shall we go?”

Sure enough, Prompto was gesturing for them to catch up. Noctis and Iris had started to follow the others into the station, but Prompto tapped Noctis’ shoulder and the two fell back into step with Gladio and Ignis.

The kid looked chipper, much more so than Noctis. Gladio couldn’t help but wonder if perhaps Prompto had gotten lucky and hadn’t witnessed a member of the Crownsguard beheaded not ten feet from the car. 

He hoped that Iris had been lucky enough to miss it, too. No matter how tough he knew she was, Gladio himself hadn’t been prepared to watch Monica die like that, and Iris was only fifteen. She didn’t need to see it. 

“… So I don’t suppose we can go back to Insomnia any time soon, right?” Prompto was saying. He was also staring pointedly at Gladio and it took him a moment to register that Prompto was talking to him and not Noctis. 

The only thing Gladio could muster up was a noncommittal shrug, and the four of them fell into a tense silence as they opened the door connecting the garage to the station. 

Inside, the anxieties that had been building up since the escape from Insomnia had exploded into a cacophony of angry voices. As they drew nearer, Libertus seemed to be the loudest. 

“I am not sitting around on my ass in here waiting for more people to die. Cid said he saw Niflheim airships headed toward Insomnia. Anyone who wasn’t killed by those… _things_ most certainly will be by the soldiers they send down. Niflheim is ruthless. And since there’s no saving the city, no saving Crowe, I need to get out of here and do what I can for the people I can actually help.”

“If you left we’d be down one man protecting our king,” Nyx said. “And we don’t know if it’s better or worse anywhere else. Even if Galahd is safe right now, there’s no guarantee you’d even make it there.”

Libertus looked about ready to retort, but Regis noticed Gladio and the other three and stepped back to allow them to join in. “I have entrusted you three with the well-being of my son,” Regis said, “it is only right that I ask for your opinions as well.”

Ignis took a deep breath. “I believe we should continue with our original plan—make way to Lestallum. Secure a safe base. Perhaps try to establish connections with anyone who may still be alive and on our side. Rally together and wipe out the Infected in Insomnia so that we may be able to return home.”

“A fine plan,” Drautos smiled at Ignis, who looked slightly embarrassed by the praise. “I say we stock up tonight with supplies from the station, enjoy warm beds and showers for one last night, let Cid and Cindy work their magic on adding off-roading capabilities to the Regalia, and set off at first light.”

“I don’t believe I said you could rob me of all my supplies,” Cid cut in. He raised a bushy eyebrow at Regis. “I need some here for me, too. You can buy what you need here, I won’t argue that. But I won’t be joining y’all on this mad journey to Lestallum, so you can’t take everything I’ve got. Lestallum’s a ways from here. I’m old, my joints ain’t working like they used to. I get why you need Reggie, but not me. If Hammerhead is goin’ down, I’m goin’ down with it.”

From behind him, Cindy Aurum stood against the wall, arms crossed, and cleared her throat. 

Cid didn’t look over his shoulder at her, his gaze fixed decisively on Regis. “Cindy and I don’t agree on this one, but my mind is set. She’s going with you—she got my knack for tinkering and hard, honest work, and she’s a whole lot younger than I am. Anything you need help with, you can count on her.”

“Noctis,” Regis raised his eyes to meet his son. “I need you four to gather the supplies. There are more things Cid and I must discuss, but we will join you after.”

It was clear Regis wanted privacy with whatever he had yet to say. Fair enough. Gladio nodded and turned, but not before he glimpsed Noctis, who was not taking the dismissal well, rolling his eyes and muttering something rather distasteful under his breath. 

“C’mon, Charmless,” Gladio ordered. “We’ll take Iris too,” he told Regis, who nodded.

Noctis wheeled around toward them once the door between the five of them and Regis had clicked shut. “Who does he think I am, an errand prince?” Noctis snapped. “I know he just wanted me out of the way. He wanted all of us out of the way. What’s he got to say to them that he can’t say to me?”

“It isn’t like that, Noct,” Ignis replied, coolly. “Your father has a lot on his plate now as king of a fallen city. He just wants us to spread out so we can cover more things all at once. They have already settled on a course of action, I’m sure they’re simply working out a few of the more particular details.”

“What’s there to work out?” Noctis’ turned his gaze toward Ignis, a dark look on his face. “We don’t know what things will look like out there. There’s no way to plan out specifics.”

“Hey, guys?” Prompto stepped between them, hoping to diffuse some of the tension. “I know we’re all on edge, but Cid just said he’s staying back. That’s gotta be hard for the king, I know you mentioned he and your dad used to be pretty close before they fell out, so it’s probably a lot to take in that he’s just gonna go down with this place.” Prompto sighed. “If I was him, I’d want to reconcile before that happened.”

The hard look in Noctis’ eyes softened some. 

Prompto reached into his backpack and pulled out a camera.

Gladio raised his eyebrow, unsure of why Prompto had been holding onto a camera of all things, but Prompto just held it up to show the others. 

“So yeah, he probably _did_ want us out of the way,” Prompto continued, “Because Cid was like, one of them. Maybe your dad needs some time where he isn’t the king, he’s just, you know, Cid’s friend. And anyway, I was thinking. Maybe we should take a minute to just remember that _we’re_ friends, too. I was gonna snap a pic of you at the party, Noct. And Luna. And maybe the three of us. But… it didn’t happen. So, anyway, I know we’re all on edge. But I thought maybe since I didn’t get a picture of us all at the party, I could get one now. And then we can go and get some supplies?”

It was a strange request, but one Noctis seemed to acquiesce to. He sighed, shoulders slumping. “Sure,” he said. “Yeah, I guess we can.”

Prompto smiled. “Great! All of us, now. Iggy and Gladio, you’re the tallest so you stand in the back. Noct and I will get in the middle, and Iris, you’d be great kneeling in the very front. Sound good?”

They scrambled into the suggested formation, while Prompto set up his camera on a nearby box and set the timer. He ran back into place, throwing an arm around Noctis and grinning at the camera. 

Gladio forced himself to smile, even though he felt like doing anything but. He could do it for Prompto. They had to start taking these moments wherever they could get them. 

The camera flashed and Prompto popped back over, taking a look at how it turned out. “Ooh, yeah, love the lighting!” 

He passed it around for everyone to see, and while Iris praised Prompto and suggested he bring the camera and start taking pictures wherever they went, Gladio couldn’t shake the sinking feeling he got from looking at the photo. Like perhaps Prompto hadn’t just wanted to take it for the fun of it, but maybe because he worried there wouldn’t be any more fun after this, only more death.

He passed the camera to Ignis. 

Maybe Prompto had seen Monica die after all. Maybe he did understand the gravity of the situation, even though there were moments when Gladio doubted. 

“This photo turned out well, Prompto,” Ignis said, readjusting his glasses and handing Prompto back the camera. “I’m rather inclined to agree with Iris, you could document our trip.”

Prompto smiled. “Sure thing! I can do that.”

As they expected, the shop was well stocked. The danger that was looming clearly hadn’t impacted supplies here yet.Gladio spotted Ignis over in the corner piling his arms full of as many cans of Ebony he could hold while he found himself drawn to the shelves full of cup noodles. 

Surely having a nice supply of cup noodles could come in handy. Who knew if they would have the time for Ignis to cook full meals for them— they had to be prepared for anything. Which meant cup noodles. 

If Ignis complained, Gladio decided he would just point out exactly how many cans of Ebony he had seen Ignis carrying up to the counter. He stocked up on a few more supplies and grabbed some staple ingredients Ignis liked to use in his cooking and bought them, as well as a couple little snacks he knew Noctis and Prompto were particularly fond of. 

Gladio handed the bag to Ignis, who raised an eyebrow. “Yes?”

“You wanna be in charge of the food?” Gladio asked. “I think you’ll like some of the things I got. Tried to pick out a little something for everyone.”

Ignis’ mouth quirked. “Oh?” He asked, intrigued. He opened the bag, fishing out the box of chiffon cake mix. He hummed appreciatively. “My favorite. If we’re safe enough tonight, I might bake this for dessert. It’s better shared, I think. Will you be having a slice?”

Gladio glanced surreptitiously around the store, making sure none of the other guys or Iris was watching, and then pressed a gentle kiss to Ignis’ nose. “Sure,” he agreed. 

Ignis nodded, hooking one of his fingers around Gladio’s belt loops and leaned in for another kiss. “The others will notice if we stand here too long.” he murmured quietly. He reluctantly pulled away, placing the cake mix back in the bag.

Gladio turned around just as Nyx entered the shop. He zeroed in on Gladio and Ignis and headed over, the helmet Iris had given him still tucked under his arm. “Hey, you two. Clarus just sent me. He’d like you to head to the garage, Gladio. Something he wants to talk to you about.”

Oh. Gladio knew Clarus hadn‘t been happy about what had transpired with Monica back in Insomnia, but he’d hoped his father would have just let it be. Apparently that wasn‘t the case. 

Ignis caught the conflicted look on his face. “Go to him,” he said. “I’ll take care of things here.”

Gladio sighed. Nodded. “Be back soon,” he said, the door to the shop swinging shut behind him as he left.


	6. Chapter 6

Clarus was alone in the garage when Gladio arrived, and he could only assume it meant the others were still in the station. Clarus had his back to Gladio, but even without him looking, he could feel the tension in the air.

“Gladiolus,” Clarus started. He didn’t sound angry, but he certainly sounded stern, and Gladio prepared himself for his father’s next words.

“What happened back there with Monica— I shouldn’t have had to step in. I realize you were hesitant to kill one of our own, but you got a closer look at her than even I did. You and I both know she was Infected. In moments like that, you can never hesitate.”

Gladio sighed. He knew his father was right, but there was something so final about actually being the one to bring the sword down on someone. And someone they _knew_ , no less. Infected or not, how were they to know there wasn’t a cure… or that there wouldn’t be one down the line?

“We Amicitias are trained to protect.” Clarus was speaking again. “I saw a Monica that should have been dead and I saw my son, and I acted. It’s those split-second decisions that will save your life and Prince Noctis’. Those are the kinds of decisions that you will need to make as Shield to a king.”

Gladio nodded. “I understand.”

“Do you?” Clarus finally turned to look at Gladio, and Gladio noticed the light reflecting off two streaks down his father’s cheeks—almost like he had been crying. “I say this not because I am angry, but because I know that you have the strength to step up and follow in my footsteps. You have the power to protect Prince Noctis. I believe in you, as does King Regis. We are in difficult times now, Gladiolus, and it is possible that someone you considered a friend yesterday will be an enemy tomorrow. You must be prepared to throw yourself in between—possibly even strike someone down—if they are threatening the prince. That is your duty. What good is a king’s shield if there is no king?”

Gladio let that sink in. He knew Clarus was right: that these kinds of situations were exactly what he had been training for all these years. This is what it truly meant to be a member of the Crownsguard. “And if we find out there’s a cure for it?” Gladio asked. “After we’ve killed so many of our own?”

Clarus sighed heavily, and Gladio knew he’d hit a nerve. That must have been the same question they had all been asking themselves. “Right now, they are our enemy,” he said, after a long pause. “Monica was going to attack you back there. There was no time to subdue her. We were being pursued. She would not pause and think about killing you, she just would have done it. Regardless of whether or not we can find a cure in the future, we both saw how she looked. The _real_ Monica was dead. That was just her body, and it needed to be laid to rest. But we will not stop looking for ways to reverse this.”

“Right.” Gladio turned to leave, but Clarus stopped him. 

“Gladiolus.”

Gladio turned back toward his father. 

Clarus smiled. “When things get difficult, remember who you are, and what you were sworn to do. None of us may have expected this, but I happen to have two wonderful children who I wholeheartedly believe can handle anything this world throws at them.”

Gladio smiled back and gave his father a quick bow. “I won’t let you down.”

This time Clarus did not stop him when he turned to leave, nor did he follow him. Clarus tended to give good advice, and both Gladio and Iris knew that Clarus always had their back, but there had been something different about this conversation that didn’t sit entirely well with Gladio. 

But there was still work to do. If they were staying here for the night, Gladio had to make sure he was in top condition. He checked back in with Noctis, Ignis and Prompto, and then went in search of Cor. He’d missed out on exercising this morning, and what better way to work out some of that extra energy and make sure he was on top of his game than a little one-on-one spar with Cor?

It wasn’t too difficult to find him. He was next door in a diner called ‘Takka’s Pit Stop’ that Gladio couldn’t believe he hadn’t noticed when they had first arrived. Cor was inside, seated at one of the tables Gladio could see through the window as he stepped into the diner. 

Cor looked up. He was alone. Gladio had at least been expecting the other glaives to be there, possibly even Regis. But it was only Cor, holding a map open with his forearm and scribbling notes with his free hand. “Gladiolus,” he acknowledged. “What can I do for you?”

Gladio crossed his arms and strode over to Cor. “The diner still in business?” He asked. “Looks empty.”

“Usually, yes,” Cor replied. “It’s run by a man named Takka, as I’m sure you gathered from the name of the place. He’s out on a supply run right now; he was held up by some unexpected complications with a herd of anak. Cid said he spoke with him just this morning, told him to head to Lestallum instead of Hammerhead. It’s a shame, I expect you would have rather liked the food here.”

“Maybe Iggy can whip something up if there are any ingredients left,” Gladio suggested. He sat down opposite Cor. “Think you can spare a few minutes to train? I could do with a good spar against someone that actually challenges me.”

Cor didn’t quite smile, but Gladio saw his mouth twitch upward. “You do know that you have yet to beat me in a single match so far?” 

Gladio grinned. One of these days he would beat Cor, if only it meant that he officially had bragging rights for besting ‘the Immortal’. “And this’ll be the day. You up for it?”

Cor cast one last look at his map and nodded. He stood. “Suppose I can take a quick breather. Think you can last ten minutes?”

“Think you can last five?” Gladio countered.

Once they both had their weapons drawn, it became apparent that Cor would not be going easy on him. Gladio’s greatsword was heavy, and Cor quickly dodged his first three attacks before swiping at Gladio’s leg.

Gladio sidestepped, but not fast enough to avoid the katana completely, and the tip of the sword clipped Gladio’s leg. He winced, backed up, and parried the next blow, finally managing to get a hit in on Cor.

It would be much easier if Cor would just slow down, but it looked like he wouldn’t be able to catch a break. Gladio parried several more attacks, only getting more and more frustrated every time Cor back flipped or sidestepped out of the way. 

He finally fixed Cor in his sights and hurtled toward him, but yet again his greatsword only met the ground. He struggled to pull it up but his energy was flagging. For someone nearly twice his age, he couldn’t believe Cor was this agile. 

“Pathetic,” Cor taunted from behind him and Gladio reeled around in a blind rage, his greatsword finally making contact with Cor, sending him flying backwards against the side of the diner. 

“Give up?” Gladio asked, lowering his sword.

“Not a chance. That’s the first good hit you’ve gotten since we started.” Cor wasted no time in getting back up, and just the split-second pause Gladio had given him was enough of an opening for Cor to launch himself at Gladio, sword drawn as he knocked him onto his back. 

Gladio fell hard, the wind knocked out of him as his back hit the concrete. 

“I think it’s clear who the real winner is here.” Cor sheathed his weapon, looking smug. “Try again when you’re truly ready.” He helped Gladio to his feet.  “You‘re improving, though. I have a few pointers for next time. There are some techniques I’d like to show you.”

“Who says I’ve given in?” Gladio asked. “I’m ready for round two.”

“So soon?”

That was a good sign. The hesitance on Cor’s side suggested that maybe his mentor was starting to tire after all, which meant Gladio still had a chance. “You know it.”

Cor raised an eyebrow and went to redraw his katana when Drautos shoved open the door of the station. 

“We need you both in here now,” Drautos ordered. “There’s a broadcast on the radio. You need to hear it.”

“I suppose you’ll have to wait for that second round.” Cor sounded apologetic. “We’ll be just a minute.” And then to Gladio: “How’s your leg?”

Oh, right. Gladio glanced down at his leg, which was bleeding where Cor’s weapon had struck him—but not badly. A simple patching up would do the job. “Fine. How about yourself? I hit you pretty hard, I hope you’re not hurt.”

“I wouldn’t have agreed to spar with you unless I was prepared to take a hit from your greatsword. I’ve got a layer of protective gear between myself and that sword of yours; It would’ve been unwise to have nothing to shield me.”

“Need to get me one of those,” Gladio mused. He vanished his sword and followed Drautos and Cor as they headed back into the station. 

Inside, most of the others huddled around a radio sitting atop a couple boxes. The only one not present was Iris (to which Gladio supposed she didn’t really have a need to be listening to any of it), and Libertus.

“What’s going on?” Cor asked as they approached the group.

“It’s a broadcast on the news,” Nyx informed them. He made room for Gladio and Cor to join them around the radio. “A reporter from Lucis. Guess that’s still up and running, then.”

“… prompted a mass panic amongst partygoers as they swarmed out into the streets. We have not yet confirmed the number of casualties but we advise anyone who has sustained injuries to seek immediate medical attention…”

“There’s been no official statement from Niflheim,” Ignis noted. “That doesn’t add up. If what happened last night was planned, Niflheim should be gloating right now, but…”

“… I repeat, any survivors should seek immediate medical attention. We will continue to look into this…”

“Perhaps Niflheim’s silence suggests that the virus was not intended by them either,” Drautos said. “I suppose that’s good news. It means we’re all united in this mess.”

“It doesn’t change the fact that Niflheim started it, though,” Noctis cut in. “You guys said that it was one of them who bit Delilah and set this all off. Regardless of whether the Niffs intended it, it originated with one of their own.”

“And they’ll get it under control,” Drautos assured him. 

“Sure they will. After they’ve secured a base in Insomnia,” Noctis snapped. He scowled at the ground. “It seems too convenient to be an accident.”

"We could debate Niflheim’s involvement with the virus all afternoon.” It was Regis who spoke, and when he raised his hand, the whole room quieted, their eyes fixed on him. “I suggest we leave Cid and Cindy to the repairs. Even with the broadcast, our course of action remains the same. Take the night to recuperate, head out as soon as dawn breaks tomorrow. We’ll have three shifts so there’s someone keeping watch at all times throughout the night in case the Infected wander our way. Then we make for Lestallum.”

Clarus nodded. “I will take first shift. I suggest Cor takes second. And Nyx?”

“No.” Libertus cut in. Gladio looked up to see him approaching them, hands shoved in his pockets and a grim look on his face. “I’ll take the last shift.”

“Very well,” Clarus agreed. “Libertus will take the third shift then. Any objections?”

Gladio shook his head, and the others did the same. Not that he really felt he had a whole lot of say in the matter, but he could pretend. Regis dismissed the group.

Gladio made his way over to Ignis, Noctis, and Prompto. “Hey. So I guess there’s a diner who’s owner just happens to be out on a supply run.”

Ignis caught the pointed look that Gladio was giving him and smiled fondly. “I suppose that’s where I say I can whip something up for supper tonight?”

Gladio held up his hands in mock defeat. “Hey, your call, but I’m sure there’s stuff in the back pantry if you wanted to look.”

“Is that so?” Ignis smirked. “If I wanted to, of course.”

“Yeah!” Prompto chimed in, eyes lighting up. “No pressure or anything, but you always make the _best_ stuff I’ve ever tasted, Iggy! Right, Noct?”

“It’s all right,” Noctis replied, facetiously. 

Ignis glanced between the three of him, a hint of a smirk on his face. “I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to take a look at our available ingredients.”

“Yes!” Prompto cheered, pumping his fist in the air. “Thanks, Igster! You’re the best.”

Ignis raised an eyebrow at the nickname. “That’s certainly a new one,” he commented. His eyes met Gladio’s. “Care to join me?” 

***

“It’s just… I feel like a lot of us don’t have much of a say in any of this,” Gladio ranted, leaning against one of the counters as Ignis took stock of the supplies in Takka’s storeroom and brought out a few choice ingredients to use. “I get that Regis is the king, but what _we_ think should be taken into account, too.”

“His majesty only wants what’s best for us all,” Ignis sighed. “I’m sure he does value our opinions, but the four of us and Iris have never been outside the Crown City. The others have. It only makes sense for us to follow their advice. And Regis’ health is failing him. We can all see it. We mustn’t try and push the limits of what he’s able to do.”

“Listen, Iggy. A virus spread by the Niffs just took over our whole damn city. We don’t have time to sit around. Sure, the king is getting older and his health is failing. I get that running an entire city and trying to stave off a war takes a toll on your body, but he’s gonna have to push himself. We all are.”

“Only until we get to Lestallum,” Ignis replied. “We have a plan, Gladio. None of this is ideal, but King Regis is doing the best he can. There’s just still a lot we don’t know. If I could just analyze someone with the infection, I think I could probably understand it more. Surely that would benefit all of us, although there isn’t time for that now. But for us, the task is clear: Protect Noct, just like we always have.”

Gladio frowned. Ignis had a point; they had a duty to Noctis as his shield and advisor, and a virus overrunning Insomnia didn’t change that. Regis believed they could do it, and Gladio knew his father believed in him as well. But still… only a few days ago he had been at Ignis’ apartment, watching Ignis cook for the party, chastising him for working too hard and never giving himself a break, stealing kisses every time Ignis had even the briefest of moments in between the preparations. If someone had told him then that Insomnia would fall at the very party they were preparing for, he would have laughed in their face.

“So what’cha making?” Gladio asked, opting for changing the subject. Disagreeing over their involvement in planning (or lack thereof) wouldn’t get them anywhere. “I see you found dualhorn steak.”

“That I did,” Ignis smiled fondly. “It was in the freezer. I also was lucky to find enough Leiden pepper in the pantry. It’s not much, but I daresay I can make spicy long-bone rib steak. Enough for all of us. And I know it’s a favorite of Prompto’s.”

“He won you over with his flattery, huh?” Gladio asked. 

“Perhaps. More praise than I get from the rest of you lot.”

“Hey!” Gladio leaned back, crossing his arms. “You know I love your cooking.”

Ignis smiled. He chopped up the peppers and tossed a couple other spices with some oil into a bag with the dualhorn steak. “This will take about twenty minutes to marinate,” he told Gladio, “and then I just need to grill it. It’s quite easy to make. We lucked out with the ingredients here. I really wish Takka was here though, we could’ve swapped recipes.”

Gladio leaned forward and snagged Ignis’ shirt, pulling him closer. “So. You said that has to marinate for twenty minutes?”

“Yes, but—”

Gladio grinned. “I bet I could get you off before the steak’s done marinating.”

The flush of Ignis’ cheeks was instantaneous. He sputtered, turning away. “Gladio, that’s hardly appropriate given the circumstances. You know as well as I do that there is a time and a place for that but… but people are dying.”

Gladio sighed, the mood all but smashed to pieces as he recalled Dustin and Monica earlier that morning. “We could use a way to take our minds off of things,” he suggested. “And besides, we have to take advantage of time alone whenever we can get it.”

Ignis placed a hand gently on Gladio’s cheek. “I know,” he said. “I just need to let it sink in a little first that Lucis is no longer ours. I can only imagine how the king and prince are feeling right now. Perhaps later.” A pause. The corner of his mouth twitched up into a smirk. “I promise I’ll make it worth your while.” 

Gladio leaned in and met Ignis in a kiss that start out gentle and dissolved into something much more desperate. Despite Ignis claiming to need to let things sink in, after he had started kissing Gladio it was as though a switch had been flipped. Perhaps they’d be able to fit in a little excitement before the steak finished marinating after all. 

Gladio hoisted Ignis up onto the counter.

Between the king’s failing health, Noctis’ resulting mood swings, and Ignis’ workload getting heavier with the weight of everyone else’s duties including his own, it had been the better part of a month since they really truly had time alone, and now with no end in sight to this virus? They both deserved a break. They’d earned it.

Ignis was tugging at Gladio’s shirt now and he broke the kiss long enough to pull it off, his heart beating faster as he resumed the kiss. Gods, he just wanted to _wreck_ Ignis and put him back together again afterwards. He wanted to push him down on this counter, tear that shirt of his right down the middle, 

(“Gladio, we can’t waste clothing, we’ve no idea when we’ll be afforded the luxury of new clothes”, Ignis’ voice supplied rather unhelpfully in his mind).

Fine. _Unbutton_ his trousers and trail kisses from his mouth to his neck and down, relish in all the little noises he knew he could work out of Ignis as he’d slip a hand down his pants and—

“Uh, guys?” 

Ignis pulled back frantically, and Gladio found that he quite liked Ignis looking like this, face flushed with lust and embarrassment as he smoothed down his shirt and readjusted his glasses. “Ah, yes Prompto?” He asked, as the blond hovered awkwardly in the doorway.

“I’m… not interrupting anything am I?” Prompto asked, stammering in such a way that told Gladio he absolutely knew he _had_ interrupted something. 

He wanted to tell Prompto that yes, he was, and would he kindly leave, but Ignis beat him to it with the opposite answer. 

“Not at all. What can I assist you with?”

Gladio kicked his shirt behind the counter, although he knew it wouldn’t really be fooling anyone since Prompto had seen him less than twenty minutes ago with his shirt on.

Prompto licked his lips anxiously. “Nothing really, it’s just Noct is busy with… you know about his magic dog right?”

“Umbra, yes, I am aware.” Ignis turned his attention to the bag of steak he was marinating with rapt interest. “If I recall correctly, his highness uses Umbra to communicate with Lady Lunafreya.”

“Yeah,” Prompto replied. “I still don’t really get how that works, but it’s… y’know. Anyway. He’s trying to get in touch with her. I guess to see if she’s okay. So I thought maybe I’d come over this way and see if you could use some help with anything, but then I… uh. Does Noct know? About… you guys?”

“He does not,” Ignis replied. “But not because we don’t think he’d approve, he most certainly would. I just would prefer to keep this under wraps. I don’t want anyone to believe that Gladio and I would put each other over the prince, we both understand our duties come before our relationship. So if you wouldn’t mind keeping what you saw to yourself, I would very much appreciate it.”

Prompto responded with finger guns. “You got it, Igs. So about dinner…?”

“Right. I don’t believe there’s anything else to do regarding our main course, but if you wanted to take a look in the pantry and see if there are any side dishes you can whip up I can walk you through the steps.”

Gladio watched Ignis and Prompto bustle around the diner. He wanted to be mad at Prompto for ruining the moment, but the kid hadn’t known and Gladio knew he just wanted to help out as much as he could. Gladio couldn’t fault him for trying to make himself useful around Hammerhead.

As Ignis had said, after the steak had finished marinating it didn’t take long for it to be done. Prompto had managed to find a handful of veggies and bread to go with the meal, and Gladio had a feeling that the bread was definitely for Noctis. Even on a good day, it was hell to convince that boy to eat his vegetables. They had to pick their battles with him, and since Ignis was a pushover nine times out of ten, that job fell to Gladio, and it just wasn’t worth it today. 

It was almost as if Noctis had some kind of internal radar when Ignis was done cooking, because as soon as Ignis and Prompto got the meal divided evenly onto plates, Noctis poked his head into the diner. “Oh, so that’s where everyone went,” he said.

“Nice of you to join us,” Gladio replied. “You gonna tell the others that their dinner is ready?”

“No,” Noctis replied, making a face at Gladio. “But I told them I thought you were cooking before I came to check so they’ll probably head on over here soon.”

“Prompto mentioned you had called Umbra to you. Did you have any luck?” Ignis brought one of the plates over, handing it to Noctis, who accepted it gratefully.

“Yeah. I was able to summon him and everything,” Noctis answered. “I just hope he can find Luna and give her my message.”

“So about that,” Prompto said, taking a seat beside Noctis. “How does Umbra work exactly? Is he magic? or…?”

“Uh, sorta,” Noctis told him. “Specs could probably explain it better than I can, but basically he’s able to travel between this world and the world of the gods. I don’t even know if he’s really a dog, but that’s always the form he takes on in Eos. He can travel a lot faster than any of us because he’s not completely bound by the physical world, and he can’t die or anything because he’s, y’know, a magic dog.” Noctis offered Prompto a smile. “He’s also the only real proof we have that the gods even exist, but he’s proof enough for me, anyway. Luna used to have a dog, too-”

“Pryna!” Prompto cut in, beaming. “Yeah! That’s the one I know! That’s actually how I first got into contact with Lady Luna.”

“Yeah, Pryna was the dog you kidnapped as a kid,” Gladio teased. He helped Ignis carry the rest of the plates to the dining tables.

Prompto blushed. “Y-yeah, well, she looked like her paw was injured. I just wanted to help her get better! Guess she would’ve healed on her own anyway though, right?”

Noctis shrugged. “She was a puppy back then, so who knows? I don’t think she or Umbra really got a handle on their magic until they were fully grown. Blessed by the gods or not, she was still a puppy, so she probably really appreciated you helping her out. I’m sure she’ll never forget what you did for her.”

“So… where is she now?” Prompto asked.

Noctis shrugged. “I don’t think she’s with Luna anymore. Luna said that Pryna was really focused on some other things that existed beyond our world. I think she left to deal with them. Neither Luna or I have seen her for a couple years now, but Umbra’s still around.”

Prompto’s shoulders slumped. “Oh,” he said, sounding bummed. “I would’ve liked to see her again.”

“You never know,” Noctis replied. “She might come back. But those dogs have their own agenda for the most part. I just hope Umbra will be able to reach Luna.”

As Noctis had predicted, the others came trickling in shortly after the prince. First Nyx and Libertus, and then Drautos, Cindy, and the rest. Regis and Cor were last, and it alarmed Gladio to see how much frailer Regis looked now than he had even just an hour ago. Being away from Insomnia clearly was taking a toll on him, much more than it was affecting everyone else. But the man had poured his heart and soul into ruling that city, and losing it in just a single night with no real plans to win it back was evidently causing Regis’ health to deteriorate quickly.

But Gladio didn’t really have faith that Noctis would be able to pull it together and rule in his father’s stead either. So then who would lead their new kingdom? Would they even _have_ a kingdom after all this, or would it just fall under Niflheim’s power like the rest of Eos had?

“This food looks great, Ignis,” Nyx praised, digging in. “Mm, tastes good too.”

“It’s my favorite!” Prompto told him. “I helped with the sides but this steak is all Iggy’s expertise.”

“It doesn’t disappoint,” Nyx replied, warmly. “Even with the limited ingredients you had to work with.”

“Crowe would’ve really enjoyed this meal,” Libertus added, and the table fell silent. 

Gladio could feel the tension in the air thick enough to cut with a knife. He was about to step in and say something, anything—about how she was a good friend, how her sacrifice would not be in vain, how— 

But Nyx was the one to reply instead. “Look, Lib. I love Crowe as much as you do. I mean, come on. She’s my girlfriend. But I also know she’s damn tough. Yes, she’d love this meal. But I guess that just means she has to catch up with us so Ignis can make it again for her.”

“If she was alive she would’ve come back by now,” Libertus replied. He sighed, picking at his meal and muttering under his breath. “I should’ve gone with her. I don’t know why we were stupid enough to let her go alone. There’s always safety in numbers.”

“We won’t make that mistake again, Libertus,” Drautos said. “Crowe would want you to have your strength up and keep going, not be carrying on lashing out at the rest of us. Eat up.”

Libertus frowned at Drautos, took one pointed bite of steak, stood, muttered a ‘thanks for dinner’ to Ignis, and stormed past the rest of them and out of the diner. 

“That could have gone better,” Nyx said. He sighed, pushing a piece of carrot around with his fork.

Drautos shook his head. “Libertus is stuck in the past, grieving a death when he should be fighting to go on like the rest of us. We are all feeling Crowe’s loss.”

“And Dustin and Monica’s too,” Clarus added.

Gladio really wish his father hadn’t mentioned Monica. His bite of steak suddenly tasted tangy and heavy in his mouth and he had to force himself to continue eating. He needed to stop thinking about Monica. About her head. About how Dustin and Monica had likely been trying to rescue panicked partygoers when they were killed by the rampaging Infected that had brought down Delilah, and then gotten Infected themselves. And then Clarus… Clarus had just…

Fuck. There went Gladio’s appetite. He choked down a few more bites of his meal for Ignis’ sake, (it was really fantastically done), and listened patiently as the others talked quietly amongst themselves. Gladio would’ve liked to have been sitting beside Ignis, but Ignis was leaning against the counter and following each conversation with a look on his face that told Gladio that Ignis was in advisor mode.

But then, when was he not, really?

The rest of the group finished their meals and retired back to the garage. There was a caravan available, but after a brief discussion, Drautos pointed out that there wouldn’t be room enough for all of them in such a small space, and it wouldn’t be wise to split up like that anyway, so the garage it was. 

Cindy gathered up as many blankets and pillows as she could scrounge up and got back to working on the Regalia while the rest of them scoped out where in the garage they wanted to sleep. As it was, their repairs wouldn’t be finished until around seven tomorrow, as Cindy needed sleep too. Not ideal, but they didn’t have many other options.

Iris begged Gladio to come sleep near her since Clarus was taking first watch, but Gladio didn’t particularly want to be so far away from Noctis (and, admittedly, Ignis), so he ended up sandwiched between Iris on one side and Ignis on the other, with Noctis and Prompto beside Ignis.

Not the most comfortable sleeping arrangements by any stretch, especially since Iris insisted on holding Gladio’s hand, but they had to make do. Gladio watched Clarus leave the garage to stand guard outside before allowing the hushed whispers from Prompto and Noctis to lull Gladio to sleep.


	7. Chapter 7

Something was wrong. 

Gladio was being shaken awake, Iris’ urgent voice pulling him abruptly to consciousness. Her frantic whispers were proof enough of an emergency, made even more clear when he saw that beside him, Clarus was waking Ignis up as well.

“What’s going on?” Gladio asked. A brief glimpse at his phone before he shoved it into his pocket told him it was 4:30; a full two-and-a-half hours before they had intended to leave.

Iris pointed toward the garage door, eyes wide. “There are people out there.” Her voice trembled. “Maybe fifteen of them? Some are in the station mini-mart but most are outside. They’re walking like the people back in Insomnia. And Libertus is gone from his shift; I think he left with one of our motorcycles.”

Ignis was up in an instant. “Libertus?”

Gladio muttered a curse under his breath, getting to his feet and quietly summoning his greatsword. He turned to Iris, putting a finger to his lips, and glanced at the others. 

Anyone who hadn’t been awake before certainly was now. They drew their weapons, and Cor cracked open the door to the station just enough to get a peek at who—or what—was out there. He grimaced. Shut the door. “There’s less of them if we go through the station,” he said. “If we go out with our weapons swinging, we might be able to take them down and get out of here.”

“But what about the car?” Prompto whispered, “Cindy’s not supposed to finish the modifications for at least another few hours.”

“We’ll have to leave the Regalia behind.” Regis looked weary. He leaned heavily on his cane, dark circles visible under his eyes. “Double up on the motorcycles we have left along with the ones Cid and Cindy have here. Our only other option would be to go on foot and regrettably, I don’t believe we’d make it very far.”

“The motorcycles are loud though,” Nyx said. “The Infected’ll hear us from miles away.”

“We cannot _walk_ all the way to Lestallum.” Drautos turned to Nyx. “Not with our king in the condition he’s in. We’ll never make it.”

“Well… What about chocobos?” Prompto asked hesitantly. 

Gladio turned to look at him, crossing his arms. “Chocobos?”

Prompto nodded. “They’re pretty fast! And nowhere near as loud as a motorcycle.”

“I think that would work!” Iris chimed in. Gladio glanced at her, smiling as he saw her set her jaw in the same way their mother used to do when she was determined about something and had a plan. “If we ride chocobos we wouldn’t have to forfeit speed by walking and we’d be making a lot less noise.”

“Our method of transportation was rather loud getting to Hammerhead,” Ignis mused. “The Infected outside probably tracked us here all the way from the Crown City. We could indeed make a quieter getaway this time around with chocobos.”

“Guess that’s a fair point,” said Gladio. “But it would take longer to get to Lestallum.”

“Enough talk,” Drautos cut in. “Let’s just pick something and take these creatures down before more of them show up.”

“I saw a kiosk to rent chocobos when we pulled into Hammerhead,” Prompto said, cocking his gun. “I can take the lead and clear out the mini-mart so we’ve got more safe spots if someone wants to back me up.”

Noctis readied his sword. “I will.”

Ignis shook his head. “No, Noct. I’ll do it. I don’t doubt your skills, but Prompto and I have weapons that work well together. Gladio and I are tasked to protect you, and as both your advisor and your friend, you cannot go in without either of us by your side. I think I will have much more room to use my daggers than Gladio would his greatsword, so I will assist Prompto with this. We’ll clear the way. The rest of you can follow as soon as the station is safe.”

Before waiting for a response, Ignis cracked the door to the station open again, and waved Prompto through. Ignis locked eyes first with Noctis, and then Gladio, who offered Ignis what he hoped was a reassuring smile in return before the advisor slipped through the door after Prompto and pulled it shut behind him. 

“Do we think Argentum can handle this?” Drautos asked. “He’s not as trained as the rest of us.”

“Prompto _knows_ what to do,” Noctis said, leveling his gaze with Drautos. “He knows what it means to be a member of the Crownsguard and trained hard to prove he’s got what it takes.”

“But he didn’t finish that training,” Drautos replied. “Not yet, anyway. He wasn’t scheduled to pick up his uniform until next week. He’s not full Crownsguard.”

Noctis narrowed his eyes and took a step toward Drautos and Gladio instinctively held out a hand to stop both of them, hoping to shake them from whatever confrontation they might be about to have. 

“Drautos is just trying to help,” Gladio said, glancing at Regis over his shoulder, who nodded his confirmation. “Look, I know tensions are high. Those Infected things are outside and we’re short one of our own. We know Prompto ain’t trained as much as the rest of us, but Iggy’s in there too and we’re just gonna have to trust both of them right now.”

Noctis backed down with a huff and Gladio sighed, turning away from the others. He should’ve been the one to join Prompto in clearing out the Infected in the station. He was supposed to be in the middle of the action, ready to step in if anything went awry and yet here he was: sitting around with the group while his friend and boyfriend risked their lives out there. Ignis had a point before—there wouldn’t be much room to swing his sword in the mini mart, but he still wished there was more he could do to help.

“Gladdy?” Iris whispered, and Gladio looked down to see Iris had slipped away from the rest of group and now stood beside him. “So… we’re really going to get out of here on chocobos? I’ve always wanted to ride one.”

Gladio laughed. “You might’ve mentioned that once or twice,” he teased. Iris smiled, and he continued: “And yeah, that’s the plan. It would have been easier if Libertus hadn’t ditched out on us, though. What the hell was he thinking? It was _his_ shift. If you hadn’t woken up when you did, those Infected may have figured out how to get in and kill us. They may have already gotten Cid and Cindy.”

“They didn’t get Cindy,” Iris assured him. “I’m not really sure what woke me up, but I kinda left the garage to use the bathroom quick and that’s when I noticed one of the motorcycles missing. Cindy wasn’t out there. She must not have been awake yet. So I went to ask Libertus about the motorcycle but he wasn’t at his shift, and I looked around for him a little before I noticed the creatures. That’s when I ran to get you guys.”

Gladio hummed. “Smart thinking on your part. Making a break for it on a chocobo isn’t ideal, but it’s the best we got. No time to go round up motorcycles with those things lurking around. And Prompto’s right, we need to be as quiet as we can. As much as I’d love the comfort of the Regalia, it’s no use to us unless Cindy had gotten the time to modify it to be off-road.”

“Or to fly,” Iris offered.

Gladio laughed. “Wouldn’t that be something?”

A knock sounded on the door separating the garage and the station mart and Drautos pulled it open as Prompto and Ignis hurried back inside, battered and breathless. 

“It’s done, your highness,” Ignis told Regis. “The station is clear. If you’ll follow us, we can calculate the best route to the chocobo kiosk.”

Clarus turned and waved everyone through the door, Iris sticking close to Noctis. Gladio tried not to roll his eyes. He knew his sister was smitten with the prince and all that, but if it came down to it, Gladio was _much_ stronger than Noct if their training sessions were any indication.

Gladio surveyed the station as they all stepped through the door. Boxes and bodies of the Infected littered the ground—at least six of them. One of the shelves in the station had gotten knocked over and Gladio sure hoped Prompto and Ignis were as okay as they said they were. 

Prompto had reached the door to and paused to look at them over his shoulder, his hand on the door handle. “Everyone ready to rumble? It might be a bloodbath once we get outside.” 

“Hopefully theirs and not ours.” Gladio replied. He shouldered his way out of the store. Out in the open, they had nothing to shelter them from being spotted by the Infected. As Iris had predicted, there were about nine of them, and once the group had gotten outside, the Infected whipped their heads around to look at them.

“What’s the plan?” Prompto asked, voice wavering.

Ignis pushed up his glasses, aimed his daggers. “Attack. And don’t get killed.”

Gladio set his sights on the closest Infected as it caught sight of him. He swung his greatsword up, hurtling himself at the Infected as it launched itself at him. His sword just missed its target, clipping the creature on the shoulder instead and it turned, barreling into Gladio as though it were trying to knock him off his feet. He brought his sword up again between himself and the creature’s face as it snapped at him. Around him, he could hear the scrabbling and screeching of the other Infected amidst gunshots and the whistling of swords in the air.

He managed to push the Infected away from him with the next thrust of his greatsword. Gritting his teeth, Gladio readied his weapon again. “That all you got?” He shouted at the Infected. “Bring it!” He knew the creature wouldn’t answer, but it was still satisfying to direct his frustration at his enemy. The Infected seemed to pause then, eyes sliding from Gladio to his greatsword. 

Steeling himself, Gladio prepared to swing again as soon as the Infected stepped into range. But instead of continuing at the same pace, the creature took two steps forward, broke into a sprint, and then  _ducked_ the moment he swung his sword. He tried to take a step back, but the creature was faster and thrust itself into Gladio’s side, shoving him off balance. He recovered in seconds, bringing his greatsword up again and this time it connected—it caught the Infected in the side of the neck, severing its head like he had seen Clarus do to Monica the day before.

Back on his feet, he scanned the area now that he wasn’t engaged in combat, spotting Noctis fighting alongside Ignis and Prompto as Noct used his warp-strike to cast a finishing blow on one of the other Infected. 

“What’s our status?” Ignis shouted.

“Two more!” Nyx yelled back. One of the Infected screeched as he shoved his kukris through its head. “Now one!”

“Nice!” Gladio breathed, impressed. Keeping Noctis in his sights, he swept the area for the last Infected, the color draining from his face when he spotted several more creatures all coming over the hill. The screaming from the ones they had killed must have alerted others, and they were racing toward the group. Gladio could make out ten, eleven, twelve, headed straight for them. They just kept coming.

Cor must have spotted them too. He cut down the last of the initial group of Infected and shouted over his shoulder. “Prompto, get to the kiosk! We have to make a break for it.”

Prompto nodded and shouted an affirmative back at Cor.

“But what about Cid and Cindy?” Iris protested. “We can’t leave without them.”

“Cid has made his choice to stay.” Clarus gripped Iris’ shoulder, directing her behind himself. “Go find Cindy. If she isn’t out here by the time the chocobos arrive, we’ll have to leave without her. We won’t be able to hold off a horde this big, not when they keep coming.”

Iris nodded. “I’m on it.” She took off in the direction of the caravan, and Gladio could only hope that Prompto could get to the kiosk and get those chocobos before the new group of Infected reached them. 

Noctis was firing a gun ( _Prompto’s?_ ) at the Infected that were in range, and Gladio had to admit, even though Noct didn’t have as good an aim as Prompto, the prince had some talent with a firearm. 

“Be careful!” Gladio heard himself shouting anyway, “They can learn; one of them dodged my greatsword.” As if to punctuate his words, the Infected seemed to avoid Noctis’ next few shots—or Noct was just having increasingly horrible aim, but Gladio believed it was the former.

“What the—” Noctis sputtered. 

“No time to hesitate, buddy!” Prompto shouted from behind Gladio and Noctis, and Gladio heard the unmistakable squawk as Prompto blew past them on the back of a yellow chocobo. He heard the thumping footsteps of one of the birds approaching him and he vanished his greatsword, grabbing hold of the chocobo as it slowed just long enough for Gladio to hop onto its back.

One glance behind him told him that the others had climbed on chocobos as well. Noctis and Ignis were the closest behind him, followed by Iris and Regis, with Clarus, Cor, Drautos, and Nyx just a few paces behind. He didn’t see Iris or Cindy though. The other birds glided past him and he swept the area, eyes peeled for the two of them as the Infected began to close in.

“Gladio, catch up!” Clarus shouted. “I’ll get Iris.”

Before Gladio could reply, he heard Iris call out from the caravan. She threw open the door and raced over, a distraught Cindy at her side.

“Climb on behind me, we can share this one!” Iris was saying to Cindy as she hopped onto a pink chocobo, helping steady the bird for Cindy as the mechanic hoisted herself over and onto its back. 

A loud clanging noise echoed from over in the direction of the garage and Gladio could make out a figure lift a wrench and bring it heavily down against the side of the Regalia. 

“Paw-paw, _NO_!” 

Cid. The figure raised the wrench again, and the horde of Infected that had racing at the group from over the hill seemed to consider the chocobos and then consider the Regalia. It only took a second before they changed courses and hurtled back toward Cid and the Regalia. Gladio couldn’t tear his eyes away as several Infected slammed into the car windows while the others clambered into the diner and the station mini mart. 

It wasn’t long before the Infected seemed to realize that Cid was on the _opposite_ side of the car and they swarmed him, the banging noise abruptly cut short. Cindy screamed for him, and for a moment Gladio worried that she might hop off Iris’ chocobo and run back, but to his relief, she stayed put.

Gladio knew he should be grateful; Cid had distracted the Infected so the rest of them could escape, but it didn’t make it right. Cid didn’t have to die like that. They could have brought him. Though if there was anything Gladio had learned today, it was that these creatures were a lot smarter than he had initially thought. Either that, or the longer they were infected, the smarter they became. 

He wasn’t sure. But at least Cid’s sacrifice had given them a far enough advantage that the Infected no longer seemed to be interested in pursuing them, instead continuing to pour into the shops and diner making up Hammerhead.

Gladio lowered his head, gripped his chocobo more tightly, and willed it to go faster, to get as far away from there as it possibly could. 

He didn’t look back again. 


	8. Chapter 8

For Gladio to say he was exhausted would be an understatement. They had been riding for the better half of the day. No one had really spoken much since they escaped Hammerhead, but there wasn’t anything anyone really _could_ say. They escaped. Cid did not. Nothing anyone could say would change that, so an uncomfortable silence had befallen them, leaving everyone to their own thoughts.

From where the sun was in the sky, Gladio figured it was probably somewhere around mid-day, which would put them at about seven hours of traveling so far, and if he was tired just riding his chocobo, the birds were probably exhausted having to carry full-grown adults on their backs for this amount of time. 

“Up ahead!” Prompto called, looking over his shoulder at the others. “Looks like some kind of haven?”

Past Prompto, Gladio could make out the blue runes of what looked like a suitable campground.  

“Can we stop?” Prompto asked. “I’m beat.”

“Probably a good idea,” Gladio replied. “It isn’t good for us to be sitting this long with no breaks. We need to stretch our legs.”

Prompto didn’t need to be told twice. His chocobo glided her way up the haven and Prompto brought her to a stop, hopping off her back. “Whew,” he breathed. “What a day.”

“It’s not over yet,” Ignis said, as he reached the haven and dismounted his chocobo. 

Gladio glanced over at Noctis, who was leaning heavily forward, resting his head against his chocobo with his arms wrapped tightly around its neck. If Gladio didn’t know better, he’d think the kid was asleep, but he was apparently still conscious enough to be holding on at least. 

Ignis crossed over to Noctis’ chocobo, bringing it to a stop and helping the exhausted prince off the bird’s back. “Although it’s nice to have a breather. We must be on the lookout for more Infected though. Cid may have sacrificed himself to assist in our escape, but that doesn’t mean more won’t be around.”

Noctis mumbled something in agreement, rubbing his eyes blearily and Gladio wondered if maybe he had fallen asleep after all, and just had some sort of skill to hold on to things even while asleep. He wouldn’t put it past Noctis.

“Is this where we’re camping for the night?” Iris asked, glancing around the haven. 

“If all goes well,” Ignis replied. “I say it’s a good a place as any. Though I’m sure we’d all prefer warm beds and running water, the outdoors is spacious enough that we won’t be trapped if we need to make a quick getaway.”

Nyx was helping Cindy off Iris’ chocobo while Clarus assisted Regis. Gladio watched as everyone took a look around the haven, making sure the area was clear and safe to set up camp. 

Gladio sidled up to Cindy and cleared his throat. “So about Hammerhead,” he started.

Cindy shook her head. “I’d rather not talk about it, if ya’ll don’t mind,” she said, and it was as if all the peppiness had been drained out of her. “Paw-Paw knew what he wanted to do. There was no changing his mind. And he saved us. I just wish we hadn’t had to leave him to his death. It’s one thing letting him keep tending the garage, but it’s another leaving him behind as Hammerhead’s overrun. I’m not proud of it. But he’s about as stubborn as I am.” Quieter, she added. “I wanted to run to him, but I know he wouldn’t want that for me. He wanted to give us all a fightin’ chance.”

Gladio nodded. “That’s right.” He had barely seen Cid at all, hadn’t really talked to him either, but he was sure it was hard for Cindy to come to terms with.

Prompto seemed to materialize on Cindy’s other side. “Is there anything we can do to help?” He asked. “I, uh, managed to get a couple pictures of the garage last night that you and Cid might have just happened to be in. If you want to see them…?”

Cindy smiled sadly. “That’s awful sweet of you,” she said. “But maybe we should save that for another day.”

“Sure! Anything you want!” Prompto hung his camera back around his neck and flitted back over to Noctis and Regis. 

Gladio lingered a few moments longer beside Cindy but she didn’t seem like she really wanted to talk, so he drifted over to Cor and Nyx. Nyx had his phone pressed to his ear, brow furrowed, and Cor had his eyes fixed on the horizon. 

“So am I the only one who thought it was weird that nothing attacked us on the way out here?” Gladio asked. 

Cor turned to look at him, a slight frown on his face. “No, Drautos and I were just talking about that. We believe the wild creatures that usually inhabit these plains may have noticed a shift in the balance of these lands. If they have picked up on humans being Infected, it’s likely that they’re wary of us until they decide we’re not a threat. Not to mention we were traveling quickly on large birds; that’s enough to make most creatures hesitate. But the wilderness is still dangerous at night. And taking the Infected into account now as well, it is imperative that we remain extra vigilant.”

“Right,” Gladio nodded toward Nyx. “Trying to call someone?”

“Libertus,” Cor answered for him. “But he’s not picking up.”

“And he won’t, if he knows what’s good for him.” Gladio still couldn’t believe that Libertus would just up and ditch them like he had. If Iris hadn’t noticed, they could all be dead by now. 

“Libertus isn’t a bad guy,” Nyx sighed, shoving his phone back into his pocket. “He’s one of the best friends I’ve ever had. But he’s passionate, and I guess leaving was his way of doing _something_ —even if he couldn’t save Crowe, maybe he’s got a chance to save his other family back home in Galahd. Now if he’d just answer his phone…”

Iris tugged on Gladio’s sleeve, drawing him over to where she was unpacking a few things from her backpack. “I brought some protein bars with me from the station,” she said. “There should be enough for each of us. I figured Ignis could use a little break from cooking for now. I know we’re all exhausted.”

“Much obliged,” Ignis said, as he pulled some of their camping equipment from the armiger. 

Gladio nodded, offering Iris a smile. “Nice call,” he said, taking one of Iris’ offered protein bars. “It’ll tide us over until dinner, at least. And if Iggy still isn’t feeling up to cooking, there’s always cup noodles.”

That got him a raised eyebrow from Ignis, and he smirked. “Or I suppose a group of us could go out hunting and see what we can kill, gather up some herbs, have ourselves a nice, nutritious meal.”

“I can go with you,” Iris offered. “And,” she glanced hopefully at Gladio, “Maybe Noct and Prompto can come along too?”

“The prince ain’t going anywhere without his shield right now,” Gladio told her. “So if you want to go hunting with Noctis and Prompto, I’m going too.”

“I believe this area of Leide has some nice peppers, if you can manage to find some,” Ignis said. “I could make a veggie medley stew tonight— it’s something that could last us a couple days if you can gather up enough.”

Noctis groaned. “C’mon, Specs. Veggie stew?”

“Stop bitching and hurry it up. If we want a nice, warm meal you’ll get out there and start looking for some vegetables.” Gladio ordered.

Another groan from Noctis. Prompto clapped him on the back. “It’s just two nights, buddy! Then I’m sure we can hunt something tasty for Ignis to cook before we make it to Lestallum.”

“I think I see some! Come on, Noct!” Iris exclaimed, grabbing Noctis’ hand and dragging him up ahead. Gladio rolled his eyes and hurried to catch up. 

***

Day two of traveling. Gladio was quickly tiring of long hours spent on the back of a chocobo, and he was sure the bird felt similarly about having to carry him. 

To his relief, the others looked like they might be feeling the same way. Only Prompto and Iris seemed to still be enjoying it, and were leading the way, chatting happily with each other. 

Gladio smiled. It had been a long time since Prompto had spoken to Iris. She had mentioned trying to invite him to dinner a few times, perhaps get to know him better, but he’d always turned her down. Something about wanting to hold out and wait for his parents, though they never seemed to show. Gladio had found out from Noctis that the poor kid usually had to eat his meals alone.

No wonder he spent so much time hanging with Noct at his apartment. Though Gladio couldn’t help but wonder whether Prompto had tried to contact his parents at all since the virus outbreak or if he knew their status. Perhaps if they spent as much time away from Insomnia as Noctis had told him, they might still be out there. Or maybe Prompto didn’t want to know. Gladio didn’t want to dredge up old wounds by asking outright.

“Hold it,” Drautos called from behind Gladio. 

Gladio turned, frowning as Drautos brought his chocobo to a halt. “What?” 

“Let’s break here, give the chocobos a minute to relax. We’ve been working them too hard.”

“And working _us_ too hard,” Prompto sighed. “But sure, I have a feeling that little Rona here is itching for a break.”

“Rona?” Noctis asked, amused. 

“My chocobo, dude! Don’t tell me you haven’t named yours!” Prompto exclaimed, hopping off his yellow chocobo and going over to pat Noctis’ white one. “I think yours looks like a Cece.”

Noctis snorted. “Right, okay. Are you going to go around and name all the chocobos now?”

“Already ahead of you!” Prompto pointed to the other chocobos, rattling off names that Gladio was sure he was just making up on the spot. 

“I suppose we seem to have all agreed on a break, then,” Regis relented, and climbed off his own chocobo, the others dismounting theirs as well. 

“We shouldn’t break for more than an hour,” Ignis said, giving his chocobo a few scritches under her neck. “It would set us back and we should not travel once night falls.”

Gladio nodded, and once they all murmured agreements, they broke to explore a little and stretch their legs. 

Prompto gathered Gladio, Ignis and Noctis for a couple photos, and then took some selfies with Iris before he and Noct ran off to explore a nearby pond.

Ignis stepped beside Gladio. “There don’t appear to be any Infected out here,” he mused. “Am I the only one who thinks that strange?”

“Nah,” Gladio replied. “It is. But I did see one near an overturned car a couple miles back. They’re out here, just pretty far apart. Wouldn’t be surprised if they grouped up soon though. You know, if it were up to me maybe I’d just go off, build myself a little cabin out here and live off the land. You could even join me, start a garden, grow our own food…”

“It would only be a matter of time before the Infected wandered upon it,” Ignis said. “And what would we do in the winter when all the crops die? What would we do if the Infected decided to try and break into the cabin?”

“Fight ‘em off.”

“Hundreds of them?”

Gladio sighed. “Yeah, I know. Besides, we’ve got a duty. We can’t just split and try to make it on our own. We owe everything we are to the King, and I’d be doing my family a disgrace if I didn’t step up and do what I can to help Noct.”

Ignis nodded. “I feel the same.” He sighed, glancing down the hill at where Noctis and Prompto were sitting at the water’s edge, and then nudged Gladio, pointing. “Ah! Gladio, over there—You can see the Disc of Cauthess from up here. I read about it quite extensively when I was younger. Apparently a meteorite was said to have fallen here, intercepted by one of the gods before it could hit the ground. The impact created the disc. I suppose there must be some truth to it; Lestallum uses the meteorshards from the crater to power their city, and that power lasts significantly longer than more typical sources. If I’m not mistaken, the meteorshard fragments also created the craters and ponds around here. The very pond that our prince is dangling his legs in as we speak.”

“As _you_ speak, you mean,” Gladio teased. “But now that you mention it, yeah. I think I’ve heard the legends too. Guess the gods have downsized over the years. Now the only proof of them still existing are those dogs. A damn shame too, I would’a liked to see one in all its glory.”

“As would I,” Ignis agreed. “I admit I didn’t even realize we were this close to the Disc when Drautos called for us to break. I wonder if that’s why he wanted to stop? I suppose at least one good thing has come of us being forced outside the city. I… never thought I’d ever be able to see it in person. It’s rather stunning, isn’t it?” He turned to look at Gladio, a glint in his eyes as he added, “I might even go so far as to say it _rocks_.”

Gladio snorted. “That was horrible.”

Ignis turned away, concealing his expression. “Apologies. I suppose I am at _fault_ here for ruining the moment.”

“ _Ignis_ ,” Gladio groaned, trying to suppress a smile. 

Ignis was smirking, and Gladio knew he was just absolutely delighted with himself. And standing out there overlooking the ponds and the Disc of Cauthess in the distance, he wished he could just have this moment to pull Ignis into a kiss—to hell with Noct or anyone else that might find out. He loved Ignis, stupid puns and all, and standing here next to him, shaking his head in exasperation, he really just felt _warm_.

“Shit, guys! To your right!” 

Gladio was jolted out of his thoughts to see Noctis and Prompto booking it towards them, weapons drawn. 

“Dad, look out!” Noctis was screaming, and he launched himself forward. 

Gladio turned, summoning his greatsword as he saw what the others were panicking about. A pack of at least eight voretooths had begun circling the area, howling and yipping as they appeared to be corralling Regis, Nyx and Iris toward a herd of bulettes, a skarnbulette looking ready to charge in the front. 

Nyx seemed to appear out of nowhere and reached the enemies first, landing a well-timed strike on one of the voretooths as another jumped forward and sunk its teeth into Regis’ right leg, knocking him over and dragging him across the ground.

“Oh no you don’t!” Iris screamed at the creature dragging Regis and slammed her foot down on the voretooth’s back. It howled in pain, buying Regis just enough time to grab his sword and thrust it forward, piercing through the voretooth and shoving its body away from him as another seemed to take its place. 

The blood in the air only seemed to fuel the creatures, making them more aggressive. Gladio swung his greatsword, sweeping through the herd and cleaving through one of the voretooths, knocking a second one prone. He’d hoped to wipe out more than that, but thankfully it seemed to be enough, as Ignis managed to slash a couple of the fallen beasts with a polearm that Gladio hadn’t even known he’d had.

“Careful of their tails!” Ignis was shouting, “Their bristles are venomous.”

Cindy and Cor had heard the commotion too and were running over, Cor aiming his Katana at the charging bulettes.“Clarus, Drautos, get over here!” He ordered.

Iris tried to help Regis to his feet, and from somewhere behind Gladio, he could hear the sound of gunshots as Prompto fired from behind a boulder. 

Noctis and Ignis had teamed up to distract three of the voretooths closest to Regis, overwhelming them with several unrelenting attacks while Clarus finally reached the group and jumped in to bring down one of the bulettes. 

Just when Gladio thought they had finally gotten the upper hand, the skarnbulette curled itself into a ball and rolled toward them. 

Gladio clenched his jaw and tightened his grip on his greatsword. His nostrils flared as he scowled at the voretooths— more of them just kept coming and coming, drawn in by the howls of the first herd. Everything felt like a flurry of teeth and claws and spikes, and he hurled himself out of the way as the skarnbulette rolled by, turning on his heels and landing a hit on his enemy’s shell with a satisfyingly sickening crack.

The shell split in half, and Gladio turned to see Noctis at his side. 

“Let me handle this!” Noctis shouted. Gladio linked arms with the prince, spinning around and using the momentum to launch Noctis at the now vulnerable skarnbulette.

“Don’t miss!” He ordered, and Noctis drove his lance into the creature from above, finishing it off. 

But there was no time for gloating just yet, Gladio could see Ignis fighting one of the bulettes off to the right, and Cor and Drautos dealing a killing blow to the last ( _finally_ ) of the voretooths. Iris was kneeling near Regis, clearly trying not to panic as she pressed a torn piece of Regis’ cape to his injured leg. 

Noctis must have seen where Gladio was looking, because one moment he was standing next to him, and the next he had joined Iris at his father’s side, muttering curses under his breath. They had Regis covered for now, so Gladio joined Ignis and assisted him by breaking the bulette’s shell, leaving it vulnerable to Ignis’ finishing blow. 

“Thank you,” Ignis breathed. He stepped back, the bodies of the creatures littering the ground, the metallic smell of blood heavy in the air.

Now, Gladio finally joined his sister and Noctis. Regis didn’t appear to be poisoned, thank the gods, but he wasn’t looking well. He was clenching his teeth, wincing every time Iris pressed the cloth more firmly to his leg.

“We should have known better and stayed closer together,” Noctis was saying, refusing to look Regis in the face. “They wouldn’t have attacked if we hadn’t split up. I just saw the water and thought it might be fun to see if I could spot any fish. I’m sorry, I should’ve…”

“It isn’t your fault, Noctis,” Regis assured him. “None of us were staying very close to each other. And you’ve never been out here before, it’s natural that you’d want to explore a little.”

“Still,” Noctis ground out. “That’s no excuse!”

“We could debate who is to blame all afternoon,” Ignis cut in. “But the matter stands that King Regis has been injured, and I don’t think it would be particularly wise to treat it right here, as we now know enemies are on the prowl. I say we find a haven. I have some first aid supplies in the armiger that I can use to patch it up and keep it from further infection. We cannot afford to be caught off guard again until we find more medical supplies.”

“There’s a haven that should be just a little ways ahead of us,” Cindy told them. She looked down and bit her lip. “… Paw-paw and I have had to tow a lotta cars out this way, so I’m familiar with the roads. If y’all don’t mind following me for a spell, I could lead you there. I know the king ain’t fit for traveling on foot, but it’d be quicker by chocobo anyhow.”

“I can manage,” Regis agreed. Iris and Clarus helped him climb onto his chocobo, the group feeling even more downhearted than they had when they’d first stopped here. 

Cindy brought them down the hill and back to the main road, veering off as they spotted the telltale smoke trail from the haven.

“It’s just up there,” she said, pointing. 

“Thank you, Cindy,” Cor said with a nod.

It was much earlier than they wanted to stop, but Ignis needed to stop the bleeding and tend to Regis’ leg as much as possible. Calling it a day here was an unfortunate, but necessary, setback. As much as Gladio wanted to, it wasn’t like they could just keep pushing forward. Not until they were able to treat Regis’ injury.

Ignis grabbed all the medical supplies he had that might be useful, and once Gladio got the tent set up, Noctis mumbled something about needing a minute and sat near the edge of the haven, tapping idly at his phone. After a moment, Prompto joined him, but neither of them spoke. 

Clarus and Ignis helped Regis into the tent to patch up his leg. Gladio could only hope they could seek proper medical care for Regis once they got to Lestallum, but for now, they would have to make do with whatever they had.

Iris was standing near the other side of the haven, tracing the blue runes with the toe of her shoe as Gladio approached. 

“You know, that was quick thinking stomping on that voretooth like that,” he said, bumping Iris lightly. “What do you say to getting a weapon of your own once we’re in Lestallum? I bet they’ve got a good arms dealer there.”

Iris cracked a smile. “It was pretty awesome, wasn’t it?” She asked. “I just wish I could’ve done more for King Regis. But I’ll take you up on that—I definitely think I’ll need a weapon.”

Gladio held his fist out to Iris and they fist bumped. “You got it,” he said. “And don’t expect me to go easy on you when we start training with it. I want you to be an expert on whatever weapon you choose.”

“Good. I don’t want you to hold back,” Iris replied. “Don’t expect me to, either.”

They were still exchanging a grin when Nyx approached, running his thumb over the handle of his kukris. “Guess we ought’a be more careful from now on,” he said to Gladio, “On our guard, always. Especially now that one of our own has been hurt. We’ll have to slow down the pace.”

Gladio exhaled. “I know. It’s not like we have much of a choice.”

“Things sure have gotten a lot more tense,” Nyx noted, nodding at everyone huddled in and around the tent. “A far cry from five days ago. Never could have predicted this.” 

“Damn straight,” Gladio agreed. 

Nyx took a deep breath and exhaled heavily, shoulders drooping a bit. “I… left Crowe’s helmet back in Hammerhead. I know it’s stupid. I guess I was holding onto it as the only piece of her I had left, and now…” he shrugged, trailing off. 

Gladio met Nyx’s eyes. “I’m sorry about the helmet. Everything happened pretty fast back there. It’s not your fault about the helmet. If Crowe was here she’d just be glad you’re safe.”

Nyx gave a hollow laugh. “Yeah. You and Ignis have always been good friends to me. I know you’ve got my back. But you can keep pushing forward while still missing the ones you’ve lost.”

Gladio nodded. “I still think we should’ve stayed in Insomnia though. I mean, I know we couldn’t have stayed in the Citadel, but we might’ve been able to find someone else to stay with. There were people there still alive that we abandoned to Niflheim and all the Infected. A lot of good people are probably dead because we ran away. And what about the other members of the kingsglaive? We could have stayed, took cover, and fortified. Don’t you think our city is better defended by the people on the _inside_?”

Nyx was silent for a moment. “You and King Regis have very different tactics,” he started. “But the matter stands that the King, Cor, and your father are all starting to get older. I’m in no way saying that they couldn’t hold their own in a fight, we all know Cor’s a legend,” he smiled gently. “That said, however, all our big fighters were in attendance at the party that night. Of the people that could be on Insomnia’s front lines, we are the only ones left. I see where you’re coming from, don’t get me wrong, but I also see the King’s side of things. We couldn’t have gone up against an entire army of Niff soldiers and Infected with just the group of us and some civilians. It’s just… too much, especially when you account for the King’s failing health. I think what Regis is really after here is backup. When we have the numbers, we can go back to Insomnia and reclaim our home.”

“Yeah,” Gladio shrugged. “Still don’t like it, but I guess you’re right. We can’t go back with just the group of us. Not against armed soldiers. And I guess it ain’t all that bad out here. Nothing but clear skies and a beautiful landscape. Could do without the wildlife attacking us, though.”

Nyx smiled. “I’m sure we can all agree on that.”


	9. Chapter 9

King Regis was not faring well. Gladio could see him grit his teeth with every step. When they rode their chocobos, he could see how much the king favored his right side and he’d wince whenever the chocobos glided and jostled his injured leg. 

Nothing had attacked them since yesterday, thank the gods, but they were careful not to split up lest they get caught unaware again. With Regis’ injury, they had been forced to slow down considerably, but to everyone’s relief, they hadn’t spotted any Infected out in the open plains. Gladio figured that probably made sense; not too many people would be out and about, most stuck to their cities and only traveled for supply runs, or if they had legal meetings to attend in other capitals. 

There certainly wouldn’t be any meetings happening with Regis absent and Insomnia overrun, though. 

And then there was Noctis, who—in Gladio’s opinion—was acting like anything but a prince. He avoided looking at Regis’ leg at all costs, moped around when Clarus ordered they take a break, and was just all around being a little shit. It was really starting to grate on Gladio’s nerves.

They were on one of their breaks now, Ignis and Drautos deducing that they were only about an hour out from Lestallum. Clarus was assisting the king, and as much as Gladio wanted to speak to his father, ask him if there was any reason to hesitate when they could just push forward and seek out medical attention in Lestallum, he was otherwise occupied with cleaning and re-bandaging Regis’ injuries.

Noctis was sulking up ahead. Iris crouched beside him. Prompto was showing off some new techniques to Cindy, and Gladio caught the blond peeking at Noctis every so often to see if he was watching his moves, too.

He never was. 

Gladio could feel the tension in the air, so it came as a relief to him when Ignis joined him at his side and broke the silence, speaking in hushed tones under his breath. “I know you only want what’s best for King Regis, but we mustn’t discount Noct’s feelings as well. He’s just worried.”

“He’s not the only one,” Gladio sighed. “But he can’t just sit around and feel sorry for himself. Noct’s not a kid anymore, he needs to learn to step up and lead when the going gets tough. We were raised to guide him, but look at him,” he gestured to Noctis. “He’s not ready.”

“Noct will be ready,” Ignis replied. “Give him time, Gladio. This past week has been hard on all of us.”

“We don’t have time,” Gladio shot back. “We have no clue where Niflheim is, only that they’re after us. They could send their airships down on us at any moment.”

“Noctis understands what it means to be king,” Ignis replied. Gladio knew he was trying to reassure him, but it wasn’t really working. “We have all seen his highness’s health declining over the years. Trying to keep peace between our kingdoms is enough to take a toll on anyone. Noct is young. He will learn.”

“We’re young, too.” Gladio set his jaw. “But this is our job. He needs to step up.”

Ignis opened his mouth to protest, but was interrupted by Nyx’s phone ringing. 

He pulled it out of his pocket, eyes widening. “It’s Libertus.”

“Answer it,” Cor ordered, and Nyx answered the call, turning on the speakerphone. 

“Hello?”

“Nyx, buddy, it’s me,” Libertus’ voice sounded fuzzy on the other line. “Listen, this is important. There’s not much time.”

“Libertus!” Nyx brought the phone closer to his face. “What is it? Where are you?”

“I won’t make it to Galahd,” Libertus said, voice cracking. “I… the motorcycle’s run out of gas. I’m surrounded. They’re everywhere, Nyx.”

Nyx clutched the phone tighter, sounding more desperate. “Lib, you’ll be fine. Just tell me where you are. We’re almost at Lestallum. We can send you help. Just hold on, okay?” 

“He shouldn’t have run out on us like he did,” Drautos muttered evenly, striding past Nyx. Gladio glanced between the two of them, a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.

Nyx frowned as the line crackled on the other end before Libertus’ voice came through again.

“I know. I got your voicemail. But, Nyx…” Whatever Libertus was saying next seemed muffled, as if he had pulled the phone away from his ear for a moment. “… Not enough time. I just… want to say I’m sorry. For everything I did. For leaving you all. I…” there was a sound on the line that took Gladio a few moments to interpret as a sob. He crossed his arms and hovered closer to where Nyx was standing.

Nyx was getting more desperate now. “Don’t talk like that. We’ll leave right away. We’ll get there. Just tell me where you are. Please, Libertus.”

“Nyx. Just know I’m sorry. I never should have left. I just wanted to save somebody,” Libertus paused again. Let out a dry laugh. “Guess I just wanted to be as much a hero as you are.”

Nyx started to speak again, but anything he might have said was cut off with a scream from Libertus and the sounds of ripping, tearing, a gunshot, and then—silence.

“Libertus?” Nyx asked, after a moment. “Libertus!”

Cor reached out and gently pried the phone away from Nyx, hitting the ‘end call’ button with the pad of his thumb. “We should make haste to Lestallum. Perhaps once we’ve gotten ourselves settled, we can arrange a group to go search for Libertus.”

“Libertus is dead,” Drautos responded. “As would we all be if we went looking for him. He made his choice.”

With Clarus assisting him, Regis got unsteadily to his feet. “Then we mustn’t delay,” he said. He wobbled, and Clarus reached out to help, but Regis stopped him by holding out his hand. 

Everyone looked grim as they climbed back onto their chocobos. Nyx remained unmoving where he had been standing for just a few moments more, kicking up some dirt with the toe of his boot before getting back on his chocobo.

Gladio sought out Ignis’ hand and gave it a quick squeeze before they parted, and with a heavy sigh, they were off.

***

“Man, I am really looking forward to a nice, hot shower,” Prompto said, once they were close enough to see the lights of Lestallum. “I bet the hotels here are super fancy.”

“And super expensive,” Ignis added.

Prompto groaned. “Ah, come on. I think a nice meal and running water would be tempting enough to fork up the cash for just a night or two.”

Gladio couldn’t help but be relieved by some of the lighthearted banter between the two as they neared their destination. Prompto was right, sleeping under the stars was nice, but there was nothing like a nice shower, a good meal, and warm beds. '

Especially if it meant they got their own rooms and he could share with Ignis. Or at the very least share a bed. He was just itching to get his mind off all this destruction, and a quiet night with his boyfriend would be just the thing for it. 

He was just so ready for this nightmare to be over, and for them to start gathering an army together to reclaim Insomnia from Niflheim and the Infected.

Cor suddenly brought his chocobo to a sharp stop in front of them. “Hold up,” he ordered, hand flying up to halt the group. “Something’s not right.”

“What do you mean?” Iris asked. 

Gladio strained to see what Cor might be looking at, but everything looked normal to him. The city was lit up and welcoming, and Gladio could see some illuminated signs for restaurants that sounded absolutely mouth-watering. 

“I mean,” Cor said, as Clarus pulled up beside him and came to a halt as well. “Where is everyone? All of these food stands are empty. The streets are, too. Lestallum is usually bustling with people.”

“Maybe they’re inside the city?” Prompto offered. “I mean, all the lights are on. Maybe the people of Lestallum like to party at night.”

“They do,” Regis replied. “But therein lies the problem. The streets should be overflowing. Clarus, Cor, and I used to frequent this town during our younger years.”

Drautos turned to Regis. “It is likely that they caught wind of the virus that is spreading through Lucis,” he said. “Perhaps they are lying low. I believe the only way forward _is_ forward, Regis. Your call.”

Clarus and Regis exchanged a long look, and then Regis nodded at Drautos. “I suppose you’re right, Titus. But we will do this as quietly as possible. There is a back way into the city, through some alleyways. It will take us directly to the Leville hotel. Perhaps someone there can let us know if there is anything going on.”

“Um,” Cindy started, pulling up beside Regis. “Your highness? If you don’t mind my saying, I got a real good friend here by the name of Holly Teulle. She works at the power plant and has always been like a big sis to me. I think she could really help us.”

Regis seemed to mull that over before looking over his shoulder at Nyx. “Once we get to the hotel, I will remain there and see what I can find out. With my leg in this condition, it wouldn’t be wise for me to join you to search for Holly Teulle. Drautos, Clarus and Cor will remain with me. I want you to take the others and Miss Aurum here to the power plant to see if you can find Holly.”

Nyx nodded. “I won’t let you down, your majesty.”

Regis smiled. “I know.” 

Clarus helped Regis off his chocobo as Gladio and the others dismounted and sent their chocobos away.

Gladio turned to Ignis as he climbed off and stroked the bird’s beak, muttering something that Gladio made out to be, ‘we’ll meet again’. He grinned. “Made a new friend?”

Ignis allowed himself a small smile. “Perhaps,” he replied. “I believe she’s grown quite fond of me over the last few days.”

“Right.” Gladio smirked. “ _She’s_ grown fond of _you_.”

Ignis didn’t answer, but strode purposefully past Gladio to walk beside Noctis. Gladio chuckled to himself and took up the rear, casting a quick glance behind him to make sure they weren’t being followed as Clarus and Regis led the way into the alleyway. 

The first steps into the city were enough to wipe the grin off of Gladio’s face. 

Ignis reeled around and pressed Noctis up against a wall. “Get down,” he hissed at Gladio and Prompto, and Gladio glimpsed someone up ahead that was unmistakably a Niflheim soldier. 

“The hell is a Niff doing here?” Nyx asked. He reached down to pull out his gun, but Drautos’ hand shot out to stop him. “Wha-” Nyx started, but he didn’t have a chance to finish the question before Drautos intervened. 

“Let me take care of this,” Drautos commanded. He gestured for Regis to move aside and stepped in front of him.

Ignis slowly pulled away from Noctis, frowning.

Gladio narrowed his eyes. Something wasn’t right. Drautos hadn’t unsheathed his sword. The way Drautos was approaching the Niflheim guard was too calm, too relaxed, too _friendly_.

He reached the guard, but instead of cutting him down as Gladio expected him too, Drautos tapped him on the shoulder, pointed directly at Regis, and said, “The king, as promised.”

 _Shit_. Gladio wasn’t stupid, he knew there was no room to swing a sword in this alleyway, but he still had to act. He thrust himself in front of Noctis, but not before he saw the guard pull off his helmet, stagger forward, and sink his teeth into Drautos’ shoulder. 

“Get Noctis out of here!” Regis shouted, “You will have to take the long way. Go now!” 

Drautos howled in pain, nearly dropping his sword as he lurched backwards, trying to loosen the creature’s grip on him. He wrenched the gun out of the soldier’s hands, shot it, and turned to level the gun at Regis’ head. “Seems like I have to do everything myself after all,” he hissed through gritted teeth. “It’s over, Regis. Niflheim’s going to win this war.”

Clarus summoned his broadsword. He lunged at Drautos, but his sword never reached its target. 

Drautos pulled the trigger. 

“Father!” Iris shrieked.

Clarus’ sword clattered to the ground, his body following moments later. 

With Regis’ order echoing in his head, Gladio shoved Noctis backwards, reaching around and catching Iris by the hand. “We need to go,” he bellowed. “We need to go _now_!”

Noctis stumbled, and Gladio steadied him before he could fall. He didn’t know where they were going, just that they had to get to the Leville. 

“Let go of me,” Noctis was shouting, trying to pry Gladio’s hand off of him. “Dad! We can’t leave him! We have to do something!” 

More gunshots rang in Gladio’s ears. He’d seen his father go down, and the only ones with a gun besides Drautos were Prompto and Nyx—and Prompto was with Gladio. 

“You turn around, you’re dead!” Gladio snapped. “Do you want that? Keep moving.” He wasn’t really even sure who else was with him and Noctis besides Prompto and Iris, but he didn’t dare look. He’d heard the shots. He didn’t want to see any more casualties. 

“Over here!” Prompto called, ducking into another alleyway. Gladio would have preferred being out in the open, the alleys were much too small for him to summon his weapon, but when he caught sight of more Niflheim soldiers racing through the open streets toward the sound of the gunshots, Gladio realized that perhaps he should be grateful they could stay hidden in the alleys.

Those soldiers were everywhere and Gladio didn’t have time to stop and think about what that meant, only that Lestallum probably wasn’t as safe as they had hoped it would be.

Keeping after Prompto, Gladio kept his grip on Noctis. Iris’ hand was clasped so tightly around Gladio’s that he could feel her nails digging into him hard enough that it would probably leave marks.

“Up ahead,” Ignis’ clipped tone came as a relief to Gladio. Ignis had followed them too, then. When Gladio looked up, he spotted the illuminated sign of the Leville. It looked like there used to be a patio just outside the hotel, but the tables and chairs were all toppled over, and the doors shut tight.

 _Not gonna let that stop us_ , Gladio thought. He reached the doors, wasting no time in grabbing hold of the handles and pulling. He was met with resistance at first, as if the doors were stuck, but they gave with a low creaking noise the harder Gladio pulled, and finally, they swung open. 

He expected Noctis to resist and try to run back the moment Gladio let go of him, but thankfully the kid seemed to know what was best for him and scrambled through the doors, Iris and Prompto hot on his heels. 

Finally, Gladio allowed himself to turn around. Ignis was right behind him, but Cindy was not, and neither were Nyx or Cor. Gladio wasn’t sure if Cindy had gotten separated from their group while they were running, or if she hadn’t even followed them to begin with—he just hoped she was alive, wherever she was. He pulled the hotel doors shut behind him as soon as Ignis was inside, the noises outside muffled as the five of them all stood breathing heavily in the empty lobby.

Gladio had seen enough of the beginning of the battle to know that Clarus was probably dead. His father had pretty much drilled it into Gladio from a young age that the King’s Shield was always supposed to fall before the king. Clarus had always said he would never hesitate to put himself in front of Regis if it ever came down to it. 

And tonight it had.

Gladio clenched his fists, glancing at the others. “We should scope out the hotel,” he said. “See if there’s anyone else here. Find a few rooms we can crash in. We’re gonna need all the rest we can get when the others get back.”

He had no way of knowing who else, if _anyone_ , would make it to the hotel alive, but they had to hope. 

“We should go in groups.” Ignis crossed over to the staircase, glancing upwards. “Not counting this floor, there appears to be two upper levels.”

“I can go with Noct,” Prompto suggested, a little too quickly, “We can check out the third floor?”

“Sure,” Gladio gave a half-shrug. “Iris and Iggy and I’ll take a look around the second.”

“Gotcha,” Prompto flashed them a thumbs-up and whisked Noctis off to the third floor. Gladio half expected Iris to offer to go with Noctis too, but she was quiet, and when Gladio looked back at her, he spotted her seated on some benches in front of a fountain in the middle of the lobby, her head buried in her hands, shoulders shaking. 

“Hey,” Gladio said, softening. He came over to sit beside her, pulling her into a hug. 

“I’m so sorry, Gladdy,” Iris sniffled, and Gladio could feel her tears staining his shirt. “I know we’re supposed to be strong. We’re Amicitias. We’re raised to be able to handle anything the world throws at us. But—but father, he… Drautos shot him and I saw everything and I… He’s dead, isn’t he? I know he is. There was so much _blood_.”

Gladio gripped her tighter, burying his head in her hair, as if by keeping her close to him he could somehow shield her from the horrors they had witnessed. “Probably,” he admitted, trying to keep his voice steady. “But he did what he had to do, and he died with honor. Protecting his king isn’t something to be taken lightly.”

“But how could he?” Iris whispered. “How could he leave us?”

Gladio didn’t even need to lift his head to feel Ignis’ presence as he joined the two of them, his hand gently resting on Gladio’s shoulder. It wasn’t much, but the gesture let him know that Ignis was there, that Gladio and Iris wouldn’t have to grieve alone. 

“It’s more complicated than that,” Gladio replied. “But if Drautos is alive, he better never show his face again. I… never thought he’d betray us like this. I don’t think any of us did. And in moments like that, a Shield can’t think—he just has to act. He has to shield the king. And Dad did. I respect him for that.”

Iris tried to stifle her sobs as she clutched Gladio’s shirt like a lifeline. He was glad she was hiding her head—he didn’t want her to have to see that there were tears staining his own cheeks as well. 

They stayed like that for what felt like quite some time before Iris quieted and pulled away from Gladio with a few shaky breaths. When she met Gladio’s eyes, he could still see hers were still red and puffy, but determined as well. 

“Let’s go check out the second floor,” she said. “We have to make sure it’s safe before the others get here.”

Gladio offered her a weak smile. “Right,” he agreed. “Let’s go.”


	10. Chapter 10

They had just cleared the second floor when a crash sounded from somewhere upstairs, and Prompto’s voice echoed down to them. 

“Gladio! Ignis! We found someone!”

Gladio wheeled around to Iris, holding up a hand to tell her not to follow as he and Ignis hurried up the stairs two at a time to the third floor. He could see Prompto at the end of the hall, standing in the doorway. 

He had his gun drawn. This was serious, then. With Ignis hot on his heels, Gladio barreled past Prompto and into the room.   

It looked like it may have been an extra storage closet, with boxes and buckets scattered through the room and against the walls. Noctis stood in the back beside several of the boxes, restraining a stout man with dark brown hair and cruel eyes, his blade pressed to the stranger’s throat.

Gladio zeroed in on the man’s armor, adorned with the Niflheim crest. He clenched his jaw and pushed the door closed as soon as Ignis was in the room.

“I see you fools showed up after all,” the Niflheim man was saying, the corners up his lips turned up into a smirk despite being the one held at knifepoint. “I had my doubts at first when the high commander ordered us to head to Lestallum and intercept the king, but I was still the first in line to volunteer. And who do I find? The prince of Lucis, himself.”

Gladio summoned his greatsword and gestured for Noctis to step aside, pleased to see the way the Niflheim man’s flicked anxiously over Gladio’s blade. “Okay. If you value your life, you’re gonna tell me who you are and how the high commander knew we were coming here.”

The man seemed to regain his composure the moment Noctis moved his knife away from his throat. He stepped back, brushing himself off and looked the four of them over.

 _At least there isn’t a window in here_ , Gladio thought. _This guy seems like he’d take the first chance to bolt the minute the opportunity arose._

The man clearly had no plans to tell them what he knew, and Ignis approached out of the corner of Gladio’s eye, his daggers drawn. 

“I do highly suggest you answer our questions,” Ignis informed him coolly, flipping his knife. “I hope we can come to a mutual understanding, but if not, I’m afraid you’re rather outnumbered.”

Sneering, the man crossed his arms over his chest and tried to take another step back, but his heel caught one of the boxes and he stumbled, just barely catching himself. “My name is Caligo Ulldor,” he finally replied, jutting out his chin. “ _Brigadier General_ Caligo Ulldor, and you can’t kill me. If you do, the whole Niflheim army will come for you. There are hundreds of us here already. They’re waiting just outside. You’ll never make it out of the city alive.”

“Oh, they’d probably kill us, all right,” Gladio replied, “but I’m not falling for your bullshit. They’d kill _you_ , too. That’s why you’re holed up in here; All the Niflheim soldiers out there are Infected. Now answer me: who told you we were coming here?”

A smile split Ulldor’s face. “Why, Chancellor Izunia and High Commander Ravus ordered us to come here, of course,” he answered. “But it was one of your own that was kind enough to tip us off. ‘ _We’re going to Lestallum_ ’, he said, ‘ _Send your best to meet us there_ ’, he said, ‘ _Anyone strong enough to kill the king and his brat of a son will bring glory and victory to the Empire_ ’.”

Drautos. Of course. He’d tipped off Ravus and this ‘Chancellor Izunia’ and they’d sent a bunch of their soldiers to Lestallum to intercept them. That’s why they hadn’t run into any Niffs on the way there—because they were already waiting. 

“Shut up!” Noctis snarled, lunging forward with his weapons drawn. 

Ulldor started to raise his arms to shield himself but Ignis reached out in front of Noctis first, blocking him off from getting to the Brigadier General. “Not yet, Noct. We’ll have our chance,” he muttered quietly to him.

Ulldor looked surprised that Noctis hadn’t attacked, the smirk returning to his face. “I knew you were smart enough not to kill me,” he sneered. 

“Why would the Empire send _infected_ soldiers?” Ignis asked, ignoring Ulldor’s remark. 

Gladio had to hand it to him, he was quickly losing his patience trying to talk to this guy, though Ignis didn’t appear to be—Then again, Ignis had spent years going to meetings and negotiating with difficult people in Noct’s stead, so he supposed it made sense. 

Still, Gladio was close to snapping. 

Ulldor scoffed. “As if we meant to,” he said, “I didn’t choose who came here, we just all got into the airships and made our way over. When we arrived, and I opened up the ships, half of the soldiers were dead and the other half attacked me! I barely managed to escape and found my way here. I’ve killed many to clear out this hotel and secure it for myself; I suggest you do what’s best for you and let me go.”

“ _Hello? Anyone here?_ ” 

The call came from downstairs—a woman’s voice that Gladio immediately recognized to be Cindy’s. He glanced over his shoulder at Prompto, about to tell him to go get her, when Ulldor took advantage of the momentary distraction as an opportunity to act. 

He shoved a couple of the taller boxes beside him at Gladio, catching him off guard, and then started to reach for something in one of the smaller boxes that Gladio registered just a second too late as a weapon. 

But Ignis was faster than any of them. He hurled himself at Ulldor, catching him by the arm and shoving him to the ground, dagger positioned at his throat.

Ulldor was heavier than Ignis by quite a bit, but Ignis had the momentum and Ulldor went down _hard_. The man grimaced, his face contorted in pain. “Let go of me!” he hissed through gritted teeth. “That’s where one of them soldiers got me.”

“What?” Ignis’ shoulders tensed up and he sat back, but kept his blade steady.

“One of them sunk their teeth into my arm when I opened up the doors of the ship. But I killed him and got away,” Ulldor gloated. “Don’t think I won’t do the same to you.”

Ignis leaned forward and in one swift motion, slit Ulldor’s throat. 

He kept his gaze trained on Ulldor as the brigadier general gasped and burbled, grasping at his throat as the blood seeped through his fingers. He opened his mouth as if trying to speak, but choked on his words and slumped to the ground. 

Ignis only turned to face Gladio and the others after Ulldor stilled. “He was compromised,” he declared, driving his daggers through Ulldor's head for good measure before vanishing them. “He admitted that the Infected bit him; he would have died either way.” He stepped away from Ulldor’s body, casting a glance at the floor where the blood pooled. “… Perhaps I could have questioned him further, but I’ll admit my composure was wearing thin.”

Gladio nudged the body with his boot, swallowing heavily. He knew they had to kill the guy, but perhaps they could have held him just a little longer, maybe let someone else question him too. There was nothing to be done about it now, but…

Ignis was still talking: “We should go to Cindy, tell her we’re safe and that the hotel is clear. We can make this our new base of operations.”

Prompto stared wide-eyed as Ignis stepped past him. “I didn’t know Ignis could be that scary,” Gladio heard him whisper to Noctis as the four of them headed down the stairs. 

Iris was already down there when they reached the main floor. She was chatting with Cindy and another woman that Gladio figured might be that Holly. He had to hand it to her, Cindy was tougher than she looked if she could make it through infested streets to fetch Holly and make it to the hotel completely unharmed. 

“Glad to see you,” Gladio rumbled, and then nodding at the woman beside Cindy, asked, “Holly, is it?”

The woman nodded. “That’s me,” she said. “Cindy here came looking for me at the power plant. You can imagine my surprise—I wasn’t expecting to see her here."

“We weren’t expecting imperials here either,” Noctis cut in. “Why didn’t anyone warn us?”

Holly sighed, shaking her head. “I would have if I’d known you were coming. They just showed up out of the blue, killing our citizens left and right. The whole place is well on its way to being overrun. I took refuge in the power plant, but most of the people who used to work there stopped showing up after the imperials landed. I’ve been trying to keep our power up and running, but I’m the only one still working now, and Lestallum is getting more dangerous by the day.”

“You’ll just have to let the power go off,” Gladio told her. “You can stay here with us but if you want to live, you shouldn’t go outside by yourself. A virus got out that we think originated from Niflheim.” He sighed. “It’s infecting soldiers. They probably die from the infection and then reanimate somehow. And there’s more. We’ll tell you everything. You might want to sit down, though.” 

Holly nodded and sat down.

The door burst open. “We need everyone over here now!” Nyx shouted. He and Cor were carrying someone, and it only took Gladio a second to register that it was Regis. It looked like the king was alive, but just barely, and Gladio could make out a growing bloodstain on Regis’ middle, seeping through the fingers he had pressed against his side. 

“Dad!” Noctis raced over to assist Cor and Nyx in carrying Regis into the lobby. Gladio slammed the front door of the hotel shut and haphazardly shoved some chairs and boxes up against the door. The last thing they needed right now was an interruption. 

“Upstairs, quickly,” Ignis directed. “There’s a bed. I will see what first aid I can find.”

Nyx nodded and Gladio helped get Regis upstairs and into one of the spare rooms. Now that he was this close, it was obvious just how bad the wound was. It was as though a blade has pierced Regis all the way through—there was blood everywhere, and even with all the first aid in the world, the outlook looked grim. Regis would need blood, he had lost way too much and was barely conscious, his breaths coming in quick and shallow. 

“What happened to him?” Gladio asked.

Nyx shook his head. “Drautos. He still had it in him to stab Regis after…” 

 _After Clarus died_ , Gladio knew. His father had sacrificed his life to save his king, and it still made no difference. Regis wouldn’t survive this. 

“But Drautos is dead,” Cor assured him. “I saw to it. He betrayed us. He knew we were walking right into the empire’s trap.”

“But they didn’t count on half their soldiers being Infected,” Gladio said. “We had a run-in with the brigadier general. The virus has gotten out of Niflheim’s hands, too. He’d been bitten, so we took care of him.”

Ignis hurried into the room, arms full of all the first-aid supplies he could find. He set them out on the counter. “I’ll have to clean the wound,” he said, “Cor, if you wouldn’t mind, please remove his shirt. I need access to the injury.”

“Don’t,” Regis wheezed. “Save your supplies. The wound is too deep.”

“No!” Noctis reeled around to glare at Ignis. “Don’t you dare stop. We have to save him.”

“I will try, highness,” Ignis replied. He crossed over to where Regis was. “I have to apply pressure to the wound,” he told the king. “Forgive me for any pain I may cause you.”

Gladio was quickly realizing that between himself, Noctis, Ignis, Cor, and Nyx, the room was getting crowded, and Ignis and Cor would need space to work. He caught a frantic Noct by the elbow and jerked his thumb toward the door. “We need to leave now,” he said. “You’re not helping anyone by standing around here.”

Noctis twisted out of his grasp and tried to get to his father’s side, but Gladio managed to grab hold of him again. “Enough,” he warned. 

Regis reached out a hand toward his son. “Noct, you may go,” he wheezed. “Please. I don’t want you to see me like this. Go. No matter what happens, know that I love you. More than you know.”

Noctis let out a strangled cry but finally didn’t resist when Gladio shunted him out of the room and pulled the door closed behind them. 

Noctis sat across from Gladio, curled in on himself, fists clenched. 

“Noct,” Gladio started, but Noctis refused to look at him. Gladio sighed. Fine. If that was how he was going to be, then so be it. Noct was an adult, he wasn’t about to get any coddling from Gladio. Noctis had apparently forgotten that Gladio’s own father that had been shot down before Drautos ever even got to the king. 

But Gladio had a job to do: shield Noct, keep him grounded and focused, no matter the circumstances. “Pull it together,” he heard himself telling Noctis, but it lacked any real sternness. “Do you think King Regis would want to entrust his kingdom to someone who breaks down whenever the going gets tough?”

“What kingdom?” Noct shot back. “There’s nothing left of Insomnia. Not anymore.”

“Not with that attitude,” Gladio snapped back. “You’re better than this. It’s about time you start acting like it.” 

Before Noctis could reply, Prompto was standing on the top step, peering around the corner at them. “Uh…Noct?”

“What,” Noctis answered flatly, not even bothering to turn his head to acknowledge the kid. Gladio had half a mind to warn him that Noctis was incorrigible when he was like this, but Prompto seemed completely unfazed as he trotted over to the two of them and plunked down beside Noctis. 

“I, uh, was talking to Cindy and Holly for a little bit.” He paused and lifted up his cell phone. “About these. Holly said with all the backup power they have in their reserve, Lestallum should stay up and running for at least a week longer than anywhere else. So I was thinking we can take advantage of that? Stay up and play King’s Knight or something? It might help, y’know, to take a break or something. It’s been almost a week since any of us got a full night’s rest.”

And it would probably take Noctis’ mind off of this mess. Gladio knew exactly what Prompto was doing, and he had to appreciate it. At least he could alleviate some of the tension that had built up between Gladio and Noctis.

“Do you want to play too?” Prompto asked Gladio, but he shook his head. He wasn’t really in the mood, anyway, and he sat quietly up against the door for the next ten minutes as Noctis and Prompto hunched over their phones, engrossed in their game.

Nyx chose that moment to open the door. Gladio nearly fell over as he righted himself and met Nyx’s gaze. 

“It’s not good news,” Nyx sighed, looking down. “We did everything we could, but we still weren’t fast enough. The damage was too great.”

Noctis was on his feet in an instant. “Wha-!” He shouted, eyes wide with shock. “No! You’re lying!”

“I’m so sorry, Noctis,” Nyx replied, eyes downcast. “We did everything we could. But Drautos… he clearly knew what he was doing when he attacked your father. If you would like, we can all say a few words for him before we lay him to rest. But it falls to you now, Noctis. Once we win Insomnia back, you will be our next king.”

Noctis shook his head, hands balled into fists as his side. “No. No, no. Leave me alone,” he said quietly, his words laced with anger. 

“Your highness?” Nyx asked. 

“Stop it!” Noctis shouted, turning on his heels. He was down the stairs before Prompto could call after him, and the blond raced downstairs behind Noctis while Gladio turned to Nyx.

“I’ve grown up dealing with Noct,” Gladio said, by way of apology. “He’ll come around, he just needs a little space. Or at least he better come around, if he wants my support.”

Nyx’s shoulders slumped. “We really did do the best we could, but he was bleeding out too quickly and he’d lost way too much blood by the time we got him to the hotel. The king knew it. We all did, but we still had to try.”

“I know,” Gladio took a deep breath. “If anyone had a chance of saving him, it would’ve been you guys. We’ll just have to keep moving forward and do what we can to survive.”

Nyx nodded. “Right. And Gladio, about your father…” he started, but Gladio cut him off. 

“Nah,” he said. “I appreciate it, but talking about him ain’t going to bring him back. There’s work to be done. I know he’d want me to keep doing my job, so that’s what I’m going to do.”

Nyx smiled, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes, and Gladio knew that he wasn’t really fooling anyone. Nyx knew he was hurting. But he also meant what he said; There were people counting on him now, and he had to be there to support them, to support Noctis. To be the rock everyone expected him to be.

“You’re a strong man, Gladiolus,” Nyx said. “I admire that in you.”

“Well, I’ve learned from the best,” Gladio responded. He glanced over Nyx’s shoulder at the open door. “Are you… going to need my help with the king?”

“Ah,” Nyx chewed his lip. “Actually, Ignis kind of kicked me out. I think he wants to handle it, and who am I to argue? Regis was like a father to him, too. I think probably the fewer people in there, the better.”

“Got it.” Gladio followed Nyx downstairs to the lobby where the others were waiting. Noctis and Prompto weren’t there, but he knew they weren’t stupid enough to leave the hotel on their own with the Infected roaming around outside, so he didn’t worry about it too much.

Gladio gave them a quick run-down of what had gone down with Ulldor, finishing his explanation with, “So the place is clear. It’s big enough that we can even have a room all to ourself if we want one. We haven’t checked out the hotel restaurant yet, but since Ulldor was the only one alive in here after Lestallum was overrun by the infected soldiers, I think it’s a pretty safe bet that there’ll be enough food to give us enough time to secure the hotel and establish a routine. Naturally, we’ll have to make supply runs at some point, but there’ll be time to work that out.”

The others murmured their agreement.

Gladio looked up to Iris seated across the room a little ways away from everyone, so he made his way over to her. “Hey.”

She looked up. “Hi, Gladdy.”

“Are you okay?” Gladio asked, taking a seat next to her. 

“I’m fine,” Iris reached out, putting a hand over Gladio’s. “Really. I just saw Noctis run by before you came downstairs though, and he was crying. Prompto was with him. I’m… um… guessing King Regis didn’t make it.”

Gladio shook his head. “He didn’t,” he admitted. “But I think he sort of knew he wouldn’t. The king wasn’t in the greatest shape these last couple years. He’s had to put up with a lot, and fight off all sorts of people who wanted to take over our kingdom. That’s enough to leave a mark on anyone. Noctis wasn’t taking any of that very well to begin with, and now with Drautos and the Infected… Drautos just sped up the inevitable. But it _was_ inevitable.”

“Right.” Iris fiddled with the cord she wore around her wrist. “I’m sorry. I’ll try to be more upbeat. I know everyone’s hurting, I shouldn’t contribute to that.”

“You’re fine, Iris,” Gladio pulled her into a hug. “You’re allowed to feel however you’re feeling. Don’t have to pretend for us. But feel it and then get back to the task at hand. We can’t let our feelings stop us from getting shit done. Just keep pushing forward.”

Iris smiled. “Got it,” she said. “Thanks, Gladdy. I guess I’ll go take a peek in the restaurant and see what we’ve got in there.”

“Good idea,” Gladio leaned back against the wall, crossing his arms over his chest. 

“She’s tough,” Nyx said, taking a seat across from Gladio. “… Reminds me of my sister.”

“Yeah?” Gladio asked.

Nyx leaned forward, his eyebrows knitted together, hands clasped. “Yeah. I…” he paused. “I know you’ll protect her, but you can count on me to protect her, too. Whatever it takes to keep her safe.”

“Whatever it takes,” Gladio agreed. “But I trained her a little too back in Insomnia. Whenever I had a free day or if Noct had to cancel a training session. I’ll train her some more, but she can hold her own in a fight.”

“I believe it,” Nyx replied. 

“Guys!” 

Gladio looked up to see Prompto racing toward them, waving his arms excitedly. 

“Pryna just showed up!” His eyes were wide. “Can you believe it? The first time in years, and I got to see her! She showed Noct a vision. Princess Lunafreya’s in Gralea. She’s okay, but the whole place is overrun. Pryna showed Noct— there’s going to be a power outage. Lunafreya’s going to use that to her advantage and escape. She knows we’re here. She’s going to be coming to Lestallum!” 


	11. Chapter 11

“Do you suppose Lady Lunafreya knows the Infected are here?” Ignis asked that evening as he stepped back into the bedroom, hair still wet from the shower.

Gladio glanced up from his book at Ignis, shrugging. “Don’t know. I don’t suppose so. But her brother’s with the Niffs, so she’ll probably find out that they sent a whole bunch of their men here to kill us and’ll get here as fast as she can. Wish I could tell her it’s already too late to stop it.”

Ignis sighed, coming over to sit on the edge of the bed. “It’s a bit of a trip from Gralea to Lestallum, especially on foot—if that is indeed how she is traveling. We can arrange patrols to scout out the town, hopefully we can intercept her before she has a run-in with any Infected.”

“Right.” Gladio set his book down. “Think Noct’s doing okay?”

“He’s with Prompto,” Ignis replied. “He won’t let anything happen to him. If anyone can cheer Noct up after today, it’s him. It was hard enough trying to care for him when the king’s health was failing, but now…” his voice caught and he ran a hand through his hair. “You should shower, we don’t know how long these luxuries will last us.”

“Right.” Gladio bookmarked his page, even though he’d read this book at least eight times already and knew it pretty much by heart. “I found some free pajamas in the drawer here,” he said, opening it further for Ignis to see. “Reminded me of those old ones you always wear back at home, thought you’d get a kick out of ‘em. You can have them. Too hot for me, anyway.”

Ignis reached over and pulled them out of the drawer, holding them up to inspect them. He smiled a bit. “Thank you.”

Gladio gave him a cheeky grin. “Sure thing. You gonna change into them here and give me a show…?”

“ _No_ ,” Ignis said, his strict tone betrayed by the smirk on his face. “Go shower. Now.”

Gladio got to his feet and strode over to the bathroom, looking back at Ignis. “Um. All jokes aside, are you doing all right? I know we both kind of lost fathers today.”

“I’m fine, Gladiolus,” Ignis said, quietly. “It has been difficult for all of us. But we have to be there for the prince now.”

“I know.” Gladio still hesitated in the doorway, amber eyes trained on Ignis. He searched Ignis’ face for any kind of subtle shift in his expression, something that would prove he wasn’t as fine as he pretended to be. He gestured to the bathroom. “Probably got some lotion in the bathroom, right? Let me take care of you tonight. I know you relied pretty heavily on end-of-the-month massages back at the Citadel, and I don’t want to brag or nothin’, but I like to think I’m pretty good at them. If you’re up to it, I could give you one?”

“I would like that very much,” Ignis replied, warmly. “Now go. It would be unfortunate if the water stopped working before you ever got yourself in the shower.”

“Right.” Gladio flashed Ignis a thumbs up and closed the door, turning on the water and waiting for it to warm up while he undressed. 

He knew Ignis well enough to know that he was grieving too, even if he was better at hiding it than the rest of them were (with maybe the exception of Gladio himself). But that didn’t mean he was nearly as composed beyond closed doors. Ignis had been there for Gladio when he and his sister had been grieving Clarus, and now it was his turn to return the favor. 

It may not be the passionate night that Gladio had been envisioning before they had arrived in Lestallum, but it was what Iggy needed and Gladio was more than happy to provide. 

Gladio was in and out of the shower in record time, toweling off and wrapping one of the longer towels around his waist before swiping the lotion off the counter, taking a quick peek at the ingredients as he did so. Almond, jojoba, lavender, all things Ignis would probably like. 

“There’s no massage oil but I think you’ll like the lotion they got here,” Gladio said, stepping out of the bathroom. He shook the bottle, popping open the lid. 

“I’m sure I will,” Ignis replied. He folded his glasses neatly on the bedside table. “I believe I lucked out. These pajamas fit quite well, considering.”

Gladio hummed in agreement. “Good to hear. But you won’t be needing them for the massage.”

“…Are you going to come over here and undress me, then?” 

Gladio caught the playful smirk on Ignis’ face, even as his boyfriend tried to hide it. “Hmm,” he rumbled. “Guess I will.” He moved over to the bed, setting the lotion down and cupping Ignis’ face as he pulled him in for a brief kiss, fingers trailing down to the buttons on his shirt.

“Is this how they do it back at the Citadel?” Gladio joked. 

Ignis chuckled. “Not quite. They usually leave the undressing part to me. Although I do have to say, I rather prefer it this way.”

“That so?” Gladio rumbled. Buttons undone, he slid the pajama shirt off and tossed it on the other bed. Ignis would probably prefer if he folded it, but he’d be wearing it tonight anyway, and quite frankly, Gladio didn’t really see the point of wasting precious seconds. 

He caught Ignis in another kiss, this one deeper than the last. “Pants off, and then I want you to lie down for me.”

Ignis was eager to comply, and Gladio tossed the pajama bottoms beside the shirt while Ignis settled onto his stomach, head resting on his arms.

“Ready?” He asked, settling on the bed beside Iggy and spreading some lotion onto his hands. “If only we had some candles or something.”

“Ever the romantic,” Ignis murmured, humming in approval when Gladio finally pressed his hands to Ignis’ back, trailing his fingers lightly down to his waist and back up towards his neck, pressing a little harder to start working out some of the knots in his shoulders. 

“How’s that?” He asked, pressing a little harder when Ignis gave him a little hum of approval. He slid his hands down to Iggy’s lower back, working his way down to his hips and then back up again. 

“I’ve been thinking,” Ignis murmured.

“Yeah, you do too much of that,” Gladio reprimanded, gently.

“I know, I just…” Ignis closed his eyes. Exhaled. “Should we check on Noct? He hasn’t left the room for most of the night. I know Prompto’s worried. _I’m_ worried. He shouldn’t have to bear this weight alone.”

“Feels like you’re bearing a whole lot of it too,” Gladio replied. He shifted closer to Ignis, kneading the palms of his hands into his shoulders. “Right _here_ ,” he said, and let his hands slide up to the back of Ignis’ neck. “And _here_. Everywhere, really. So he can handle a little bit more right now. You can’t be the next king for him, Iggy. That’s his job. You pull all your own weight _and_ his. And some of all the rest of ours, too. Just… relax. I’ll take care of everything. Don’t you worry.”

Ignis sighed heavily, and Gladio used that little lull in the conversation to work out a few more knots he’d come across a little earlier, smiling when he managed to get a small grunt from Ignis. “You’re so tense,” he said, sliding his hands down Ignis’ spine and hips. “Just focus on me. On this. On how good it feels.”

“… S’nice,” Ignis breathed, and Gladio heard him try to stifle a yawn. 

“Told you I was good.” He slid his fingers down the small of Ignis’ back before moving around to the end of the bed, pulling his legs into his lap and circling his thumbs over first the left calf, then the right, the soothing smell of the lotion relaxing Gladio as well. He cleared his throat to cover up a yawn, knowing that the moment he showed any sign of sleepiness, Ignis would cut the massage short and insist Gladio call it a night.

He was always doing that—putting other’s needs before his own. He wasn’t going to let him do that tonight. 

“So you brought your favorite book with you from home?” Ignis asked, trying to cover up another yawn. 

Gladio laughed. “I started keeping it in the armiger after about the third time through. I pull it out whenever I’ve got down time. Don’t tell Noct.”

“You do know the armiger was intended for only the royal _arms_?”

“Okay, yeah, but let’s be honest. We use it for everything. Camping stuff, your cooking utensils… why not my book, too?”

Ignis smiled. “Of course. Your secret’s safe with me.”

They settled into a comfortable silence, Gladio working out the tension in Iggy’s legs and feet and then back up to his hips, carefully and diligently, as he felt Ignis _finally_ relax, his breathing evening out into a steady rhythm. 

It took several more minutes of massaging before Gladio realized that Ignis had fallen asleep. He whispered his name once, just to be sure, and finished up the massage, careful to ease up on the pressure and slow down steadily enough so as not to wake his dozing partner. 

Thank the gods. Gladio leaned forward, brushing Ignis’ hair out of his eyes and pressing a gentle kiss to his head. “Sleep tight, love,” he breathed, pulling away slowly. Gladio knew as well as anyone how light of a sleeper Ignis was, so getting up from the bed was a process.

Once he was sure he was in the clear, Gladio traded his towel for his pants, slid into some slippers, and trudged down the hotel hall to the room Noctis and Prompto had chosen for themselves. 

After they’d said some words for Regis and Clarus, Ignis and Iris had whipped up a quick dinner with some of the ingredients Iris had managed to find in the restaurant, and, spirits low, most of them had chosen rooms and turned in for the night. 

There were enough rooms for everyone to have their own, and most opted for that. But Gladio had grown up alongside Ignis and Noctis, and the three of them had crashed at each other’s places enough times for sharing rooms to almost become second nature for them. Not to mention that it was much safer having someone share with Noctis— especially since Niflheim had invaded Lestallum specifically to kill the king and the prince. Gladio doubted Ignis would even _allow_ Noctis to have his own room, so Prompto volunteered to share with him. 

Gladio hadn’t argued. He was happy to be able to share a room with Ignis, and Prompto was clearly harboring a pretty serious crush on the Crown Prince. So no surprises there. 

Gladio scanned the room numbers, stopping at the one he knew Noctis and Prompto occupied. He knocked. 

From inside the room, he heard a muffled, “Who is it?”

“Just me,” Gladio called back. 

There was fumbling, and then the door opened to reveal Prompto squinting at him, phone in hand as the light illuminated his face. “Oh, hey big guy.”

Gladio nodded back. “I told Iggy I’d come make sure you two were all set for the night. Everything good here?”

Prompto shrugged. “Oh. Yeah. Well, you know. Noct pretty much crashed the minute we got in the room, so he’s asleep.”

“But you’re not.” Gladio raised an eyebrow. 

Prompto sighed. “Yeah. I tried, but it just… wasn’t happening. So.” He shrugged. “You aren’t gonna tell Iggy that I’m still up, are you?”

Gladio offered him a smile. “Nah. Just don’t make it a habit.”

“I don’t mean to,” Prompto tried to sound reassuring. “Really. There are just some nights that I try everything but nothing works. So I just kind of mess around on my phone till I’m out. Guess I’m lucky that my phone games don’t need an internet connection, right?” He forced a laugh. Sighed. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll be up in the morning.”

“Good.” Gladio turned away from the door, paused, and then looked back at Prompto. “You gonna help us scout out tomorrow? I’m sure Holly’s got a map of Lestallum or something, we could go out and mark any places that are safe or that might have supplies.”

Prompto flashed him a thumb’s up. “You got it.”

“Bright and early,” Gladio told him. “No time for slacking off.”

“Bright and early.”

Prompto wished him a good night and Gladio returned to his room, closing the door softly behind him. Ignis was still sleeping soundly, much to his relief, and Gladio went through the motions of getting ready for bed before turning out the light. 

He slipped into bed beside Ignis, gathering him up in his arms and running a hand through his hair. Ignis had used up the last of his hair gel that morning, and although Gladio loved Ignis no matter what crazy hairstyle he donned, there was something he _particularly_ loved about his hair down like this, framing his face, just a little untidier than his usual perfectly coiffed look.

Ignis sighed softly, nestling unconsciously into Gladio’s warm embrace. It didn’t take long for Gladio to join him in slumber.

***

Gladio awoke to Ignis stirring and fumbling for his glasses. He rolled over, cracking open one eye as Ignis sat up. “What time is it?”

“Nearly six,” Ignis told him, running a hand through tousled hair. “It’s going to be a long day ahead of us. We best get ready.” He started to climb out of bed but Gladio reached out, lacing their fingers together. 

“Hey,” he rumbled, sleepily. “Come back and lay down for a bit. Fifteen minutes. It’s not like Noctis or Prompto are awake yet.”

Ignis cast a long-suffering look at the clock on the nightstand. “I… suppose just fifteen minutes would be acceptable. My apologies for falling asleep on you last night. I hadn’t realized how tired I was. The massage was lovely. You’re excellent at it, and the lotion’s scent was particularly relaxing.”

Gladio pulled Ignis closer. “Nah, don’t be sorry. I’m glad you fell asleep, you needed to rest.” He paused for a moment, just enjoying the time with Iggy before he shifted to more serious matters. “So Princess Lunafreya, huh? Coming to Lestallum?”

“I just hope she knows what she’s getting into,” Ignis breathed. He pressed a hand to his forehead. “While we wait for her, we should train up. I know we don’t have a training center here like we did in Insomnia, but that doesn’t mean we should put it off. How is Iris with a weapon?”

“She’s decent,” Gladio replied, smiling fondly as he recalled his last training session with his sister. “She can hold her own, although it wouldn’t hurt for us to practice. I want to keep her close to the hotel as much as possible until I’m absolutely sure she’s ready.”

“Royal protocol has never prepared us for this,” Ignis told him, peeking out at Gladio from under his hand. “I know all the procedures for just about everything back at the citadel, but none of us could have predicted a virus that causes people to rise from the dead. It’s unprecedented.”

“You’ll figure it out. You always do,” Gladio replied. “And I’ll make sure we get patrols out to scout for survivors and supplies.”

“I don’t know if it’d be wise to bring other survivors to the hotel,” Ignis said, after a moment’s hesitation. “Caligo Ulldor was ever so kind enough to clear out the building for us. I don’t want to invite others in that might be infected, or who may wish to harm the prince. I’m afraid that once Lunafreya gets here, we will have to close our doors to outsiders and fortify. We cannot allow for oversights.”

“Every group for themselves then, huh?” Gladio stared up at the ceiling. The light filtered through the blinds, and Gladio took the time to really familiarize himself with the room. Pictures adorned the walls and a little plant sat in the corner by the chairs. It was nice—just enough room for the two of them. 

_Wonder what the other rooms are like_. He hadn’t really gotten the chance to see them, just picked one on the same floor as Noctis and Prompto so they could be close by. Under any other circumstances, this would be quite a nice room to stay in.

“For now, yes.” Ignis answered. “King Regis was sure Niflheim wouldn’t try and attack the people here. And yet. Though I know Niflheim wasn’t expecting all their soldiers to be infected.”

“Right,” Gladio agreed. “They didn’t want to attack the people. Just us. Ambush us at the entrance of the city, kill us, and leave. No war with Lestallum. But the Niffs wouldn’t have even known we were coming here in the first place if Drautos hadn’t sold us out.”

“And what now, then?” Ignis asked. “We don’t have the numbers to win back Insomnia.”

“We stay here,” Gladio replied. “Too risky to try to get to another city unless we know with absolute certainty that it’s safer anywhere else. Noctis needs to pull it together and when Lunafreya gets to Lestallum, they can marry.”

Ignis nodded. “It’s not ideal, but a royal wedding could put Niflheim and Lucis on the same side like we wanted.”

“The living versus the undead,” Gladio agreed. “So we band together, wipe out the Infected, take back Insomnia. We can rebuild Insomnia and Noct can sit the throne. We can still beat this, Iggy. As long as Noct grows the hell up and does his duty.”

“You’re too hard on him,” Ignis sighed. 

“You’re not hard enough.”

“I will… speak with him. Once he understands what is expected of him, I’m sure he will do his part. In the meantime I will speak with Holly about procuring a radio. If there’s any place around Eos still standing perhaps we can get in contact with them.” Ignis turned to glance at the clock again. “We should probably get up,” he sighed. 

“Yeah,” Gladio relented. It was still quite a bit earlier than he expected the others to get started, but getting up now would allow him some time for a workout while Ignis showered and got ready. They’d worked out a bit of a routine over their years together. On nights Gladio spent at Iggy’s place, Gladio would work out and then shower while Ignis left for Noct’s apartment, and they’d meet up later in the day at the Citadel. They fell into a version of that routine now.

“I believe Nyx mentioned he’d be up for a bit of sparring once we got everything settled in regards to how we’re going to do things around here. Care to join us?” Ignis asked.

“Sure.” He was up for anything, really. And Nyx used kukris, which would be a nice change of pace from Cor’s katanas. He’d need to really strategize and plan his moves. His greatsword was large and heavy, but that didn’t mean he was at a disadvantage. Nyx may have speed, but Gladio liked to think he could match him when it came to skill.

“Wonderful.” The bathroom door closed behind Iggy, and he could hear the shower turn on. Gladio busied himself by doing pushups.

A knock sounded at the door. “Uh, you guys awake?” Prompto’s voice echoed.

Prompto, awake already? Gladio hadn’t really spent a whole lot of time with Prompto— not nearly as much as Noctis and Iggy, but he was fairly certain that the kid shared Noctis’ penchant for staying up late and sleeping in.

Gladio sighed and opened up his door.

Prompto blinked up at him, dark circles under his eyes and hair sticking up every which way. “Oh, good. You told me to be up bright and early, so… I got here as fast as I could! Is Iggy here?”

“Shower,” Gladio replied. He pulled the door open to allow the blond passage into his room. “I know I said early, but I still thought you’d be a little later.”

“Is it a problem?” Prompto asked, straightening his back and running a hand belatedly through his hair as if he was trying to calm it down. “I had an alarm set for six. Noct’s still sleeping though; yesterday was pretty horrible.”

“You look like shit,” Gladio pointed out. Regardless of when Prompto set the alarm, Gladio was quite sure he hadn’t slept much— if at all—judging by how he looked. “I’m working out, wanna join me? Might get you back on your game.”

“Oh, guess I didn't sleep too well,” Prompto said. “But sure, I can join you.” He closed the door behind him, mirroring Gladio and getting down on the floor. 

“At least try and keep up.” Gladio told him.

To his credit, Prompto didn’t tire out as quickly as Gladio had expected. He couldn’t quite match Gladio’s pace, but he was able to keep going for almost the entire workout, only petering out when Gladio switched to one-handed push-ups.

“Man, my arms are killing me,” Prompto groaned, sitting back on his heels. “You do this every morning?”

“Get used to it,” Gladio responded, trying not to roll his eyes. “Never know when you’re gonna need to make a break for it. Gotta be in shape whenever that time comes.”

“Oh, I’m in shape,” Prompto flexed his arms. “See?”

“All I see is someone who has a long way to go.” 

Prompto _was_ off to a great start, though, Gladio had to admit, although he wasn’t about to say it aloud. “Keep it up.”

“I plan on it.”

“Good morning, Prompto.” The bathroom door clicked and Ignis stepped back into the room, nodding to Prompto as he went to grab his clothes. “You’re up early.”

“Morning,” Prompto chirped back. “You’re wearing your hair different today.”

“Yes, well,” Ignis glanced away. Pushed up his glasses. “I seem to have run out of my usual styling gel. I suppose this will just have to suffice.”

“Hey, no shade, dude. It looks good.”

“Damn right it does,” Gladio wiggled his eyebrows, and Ignis rolled his eyes as he grabbed his clothes and returned to the bathroom. 

“So… how long have you guys been a thing?” Prompto asked. He rubbed at his wristband absentmindedly, glancing curiously at Gladio.

“Years now. Never would’ve guessed, would you?”

Prompto shook his head. “I mean, not until the other day. All those nights the four of us spent at Noct’s place and we were both completely oblivious. Either you hide it well or we’re super unobservant.”

“Maybe both.” Gladio gave him a half-smile, and Prompto grinned back.

“Okay, but I don’t want the details or anything. Iggy practically raised Noctis, hearing that stuff would just be kinda weird, you feel me?”

Gladio smirked. “Sure thing.”

Prompto shot him finger guns and sat back on the bed opposite Gladio. “Um, so about our plans now. What are we doing? I know we were hoping to get some backup here, but now it’s sorta like _we’re_ the backup. So… do we leave? Are we going to at least wait for Princess Lunafreya?”

“We’ll wait,” Gladio said. “Best we can do right now. We got a good thing here. It would be stupid not to take advantage of it. Once Lunafreya gets in, Noctis will have to marry her to force a union between what’s left of Lucis and Niflheim. Then we kill the Infected in Insomnia, and Noct’ll take back the throne.”

Prompto was silent for a long time. He tugged at his wristband some more and Gladio could see his shoulders slump.

“I know it’s not really the wedding you were hoping for,” Gladio said. He tried to sound gentle, and he really hoped that’s how Prompto was taking it, too. “But it was bound to happen at some point. Princes can’t really decide who they marry, you know?”

“I know,” Prompto replied. “I guess I just wasn't sure it was still happening. Or if it was, I hoped I'd have more time to accept it.”

“We all were,” Gladio told him. “But it’s the only chance we’ve got right now. It’s what Noctis needs to do. We all have jobs— his is ascending the throne, uniting us all with a royal wedding. Ours is keeping each other alive. It’s our duty to Noct, and to King Regis.”

“Do you think it’s what he wants?” Prompto asked, looking up. “To marry Lunafreya?”

“Don’t matter what he wants.” 

“I know, but still.”

Gladio sighed. “Who knows. He obviously cares about her. They spent a lot of time together as kids in Tenebrae, but they’ve been apart for a long time. I guess they talk sometimes using Umbra as a messenger, but gods have other more pressing duties than delivering a notebook between two kids, so I don’t know how often they actually got to interact with each other once Niflheim took Tenebrae. That’s something you’d have to ask Noctis.”

“Sure, o-of course.” 

Gladio wished he could give Prompto a more reassuring answer, but he truly didn’t know how Noctis really felt about Lunafreya. They were different people than they were as kids— they all were, and people changed. But regardless of any feelings anyone had towards anyone else, Noctis had a duty, and he’d have to wed if they wanted to win this war against the Infected. It was the only way they’d get more people to fight for them. 

Ignis stepped out of the bathroom once the conversation lulled, and Gladio had a sneaking suspicion that he might have been waiting for them to be done discussing Noctis before he emerged. “I’ll go wake Noct,” Ignis said, wasting no time in heading over to the door leading out into the hall. “If you would head down to the dining room, we can discuss our next steps with the others as I prepare us some breakfast.”

“On it.” said Gladio, in agreement. “Meet you down there.”


	12. Chapter 12

“All suited up?” Iris handed Noctis her backpack. “You can bring this to put things in if you need it. I know Gladdy said you can store things in the armiger, but for like, food and stuff, you might want a backpack. Fresher, maybe. I don’t know the armiger realm works.”

Noctis nodded, taking the backpack Iris offered him and putting it on. “I can’t believe I have to carry this.” He turned to Gladio. “You’re the strong one.”

“Yeah. And the one that’ll need to cover your ass in case anything goes wrong. Can’t be hindered with something on my back. You’re carrying the backpack.”

“I think it looks good on you.” Iris smiled at Noctis. “And you should be more grateful, y’know. You can carry more things this way.”

“Yeah, but…”

Gladio nudged him.

“Thanks, Iris,” Noctis grumbled.

Gladio and Iris raised their eyebrows at each other. Noct’s half-hearted thanks wasn’t fooling either of them.

“And you’ll remember to look for a weapon for me too, right?” Iris asked Gladio. “Like you promised?”

“Got that right,” Gladio flashed her a thumbs-up. “I’m sure we’ll get a pretty good lay of the land today. There’s gotta be a weapons around somewhere. We’ll check the vendor Holly told us about first, and then we’ll go from there.”

Although Holly hadn’t had a map of the town on her like they had hoped, Iris had been lucky enough to find one in her nightstand—something one of the previous guests of the hotel must have left behind when they checked out. Iris had brought it down with her that morning and Holly had marked all the shop stands and vendors around the vicinity, as well any other locations that might prove useful. 

Holly couldn’t come with them to scope out the places she’d pointed out, claiming she’d thrown out her back last night. Gladio wasn’t really sure how much he believed that, but there wasn’t much he could do about it so he offered to go himself, and then Prompto volunteered, then Noctis, then Ignis, and now here they were, packing up and ready to head out.

Holly and Cindy offered to help fortify the doors of the hotel with Cor, and Nyx planned to accompany Iris and help her take stock of all the supplies they had.

“I say we start here,” Ignis said, pulling Gladio out of his thoughts. He pointed to the location on the map that was closest to the hotel. “And then we make our way outward toward the arms vendor, then loop back around through the alleys over here.” He avoided the alley that Drautos had attacked them in, and Gladio was grateful for it. He didn’t want to have to deal with potentially coming across Drautos’ body, and if the others hadn’t had time to move Clarus elsewhere, he might still be there too, and Gladio didn’t know if he could handle that right now.

“So how to we wanna do this?” Prompto asked. “Stealthy? Or should we run in, guns blazing?”

“ _Gun_ blazing,” Ignis corrected. “You’re the only one with that type of weapon. But no, I think it would be wiser to try for stealth. The sounds of fighting will surely draw more of them to us and we want to avoid that for as long as possible.”

“Wouldn’t it be better to just go in and wipe ‘em all out?” Gladio asked. “The longer they live, the more they can learn.”

“It would be… ideal to kill them all,” Ignis admitted. “However, the matter stands that we are severely outnumbered here, Gladiolus. Stealth is our best option.”

“Then we be stealthy,” Noctis agreed.

“Do we have our weapons available?” Ignis asked. “All in the armiger?”

Prompto waved his gun. “I’ve already got mine out, I think maybe having one weapon already available would be smart in case something catches us off guard? And mine is easier to have on hand than Gladio’s or Noct’s, so…”

“A fair point,” Ignis mused. “Well done, Prompto.” 

Prompto seemed delighted by the praise.

“So we do a quick run around the city,” Noctis said, partially to himself. “Hit all the places Holly pointed out. Then can we check the perimeters and see if Luna’s there?”

“I doubt she will have made it to Lestallum in a day,” Ignis said, raising an eyebrow. “Although I suppose it depends on her method of travel. And Pryna’s vision was of the future, we don’t know if she’s even left yet. I’d give it another day or two at least.”

Noctis frowned. “Right,” he sighed. “But we never know, Specs. She might be there.”

“Hey, buddy,” Prompto chimed in, throwing an arm around Noctis. “It’s no sweat. She’ll be fine. And in the meantime, you got us, right?”

“I guess.”

Prompto smiled. “You don’t have to guess, we’re right here!”

“And we better get out _there_ ,” Gladio said, waving goodbye to Iris over Noctis’ shoulder. “The day’s only getting shorter.”

“Gotcha,” Prompto replied. “Let’s get out there and earn some experience points!”

That got a smile out of Noctis. “This isn’t a video game, weirdo.”

Gladio wished it was. He wished he just turn it off and go back to the way things were. Where the only thing he had to worry about was Noctis skipping his training sessions and how late Ignis was staying after hours at the Citadel. But he didn’t voice these thoughts, opting instead to just snort.

Ignis chuckled and rolled his eyes and he led the others to the back door of the hotel. It would be less risky the back way. They’d have to do a little backtracking but it was better than going in and out of the main entrance. The Infected already knew about the main door. The back way might be a little less crowded.

Gladio followed, eyes peeled as Ignis opened the door and gestured for Prompto to go first. The rest of them followed one-by-one, with Gladio taking up the rear and closing the door quietly behind him.

But instead of them creeping out into the alleyway like he’d expected, Gladio grunted as he nearly bumped into the other three, steadying himself. “What is it?” He asked, peering over Noctis’ shoulder, on high alert when he heard the scraping of shoes on concrete.

Ignis shoved his arm out in front of Noctis and they watched as a Niflheim soldier limped its way past the alley, dragging one unnaturally bent leg as it shuffled past them, a gun hanging limply in its arm.

Gladio saw Ignis grip Noctis tighter as the soldier— very clearly Infected— came to an abrupt stop, craning its neck upward and then turned directly towards the hotel. Even though he couldn’t see its face through the helmet, Gladio knew that it had spotted them. 

“We need to get out, now,” Ignis hissed. “To your right. Another alley.”

Gladio didn’t hesitate as he hooked an arm around Prompto and pulled him along, catching a glimpse of a different Infected running toward them. 

This new one wasn’t a soldier, but a civilian. A young woman about their age. Her lifeless eyes fixed upon them as she scrambled toward them, her left arm nearly torn completely off and her nails grating against the pavement. There was blood dripping from her mouth. She must have bit someone else just recently.

“I’ll cover the rear.” Ignis called after them, summoning his polearm and putting himself between the Infected civilian and the alley the others were heading down. There was no use trying to summon his greatsword in such tight quarters, so Gladio summoned his shield instead as he made his way through the alley.

Ignis had the map, but Gladio still had a general idea of where they were going— he’d memorized a rough outline of the city, so with the clanking of Ignis’ polearm against metal ringing in his ears, Gladio directed Noctis and Prompto down the next closest alleyway. 

Prompto looked a bit pale, whispering something under his breath that Gladio couldn’t quite make out and Noctis summoned his sword. 

“Where are we going first?” Noct asked, and Gladio had to hand it to him, he actually sounded pretty composed given the circumstances. 

“Other side of the city there’s an arms dealer. We’re going there first, then looping around. Back on the hotel side there’s a plaza with some food and supply marts. Anything that’s still there, you shove in that backpack of yours.”

“Got i—,” Noctis started. He pulled away from Gladio and jumped backwards, nearly throwing Prompto off-balance.  “Gladio, on your right!” 

Gladio slammed his shield in that direction, colliding with an Infected Niflheim solider. It was just enough to throw it off balance and Noctis managed to stab it in the underside of its neck where the helmet left it exposed.

It lurched, stumbling a bit and Noctis stabbed it again, wrenching his sword underneath the helmet and wrenched it off before plunging his sword through the Infected’s eye.

“Nice one, dude,” Prompto managed, and let out a squeak as Noctis grabbed his hand and pulled him along with him as he hurried after Gladio. 

“Gotta keep moving,” Noctis said, through gritted teeth, and Gladio led them out of the alleys and into the main streets. Out in the open was more dangerous, and he had anticipated the Infected on all sides, but at least he could summon a weapon that would actually do damage.

“Prompto, now would be a good time for the drillbreaker,” Noctis said, and Prompto stammered an affirmative, switching out his handgun for the machinery weapon.

They weren’t going to able to sneak their way through this. The Infected were surrounding them, the alley in front of them the only place that seemed to be clear. Having an army of Infected soldiers chasing them didn’t seem particularly smart if they wanted to stop at any of the shops, so Gladio turned toward the Infected on his left while Noctis and Prompto took the right.

The Infected didn’t hesitate to run straight for them, so Gladio bent his knees and went for a large sweep of his greatsword, knocking them backwards, armor making a satisfying thud as several soldiers hit the ground. He could hear the blast of Prompto’s drillbreaker from behind him and Noctis locked in combat with an Infected off to the side, the clanging of his sword echoing against the soldier’s armor.

He caught movement out of the corner of his eye as Ignis rejoined them, thrusting his polearm into the back of one of the soldiers Gladio was fighting. 

“Bout time,” Gladio said, as Ignis stepped up beside him. “I was wondering why it was taking you so long to off just one one ‘em.”

“There were complications,” Ignis answered. “Two others showed up: the limping soldier and another, but I handled it.”

“Damn right you did. Glad you’re back.” Gladio lifted his greatsword, connecting it with the last of the Infected’s neck as its head toppled to the ground. He turned quickly away from it. Here in the heat of battle, he could almost pretend they weren’t people— _civilians_ —he was killing, but seeing their faces looking up at him would only make him falter. He couldn’t afford that.

Ignis wasted no time in dispatching an Infected that seemed to be giving Noctis a little trouble, and the prince muttered a thank you as he got to his feet. 

“Other Infected are going to have heard us,” Ignis said. “We must get a move on. Quickly now.”

“Anyone hurt?” Gladio called out, relieved to hear a chorus of no’s as they crossed through the open clearing and into the next alley. 

“Next available left,” Ignis instructed. 

The arms shop appeared to no longer be running, and Gladio was disappointed but not surprised to see that there was only a couple weapons left. Lestallum had been overrun for at least a few days before they had arrived, so of course it was likely that many of the townsfolk had gotten here first.

He leaned over the counter, peering over at the available weapons left, one catching his eye. It was a sword, with an intricate design on the decorative part of the cross-guard, and spikes on the underside of it, with what looked like a feathery design on top.

Iris would _love_ it. 

He fished it out from behind the counter and added it to the armiger before vanishing it. “Got one for my sister. Anyone else need upgrades or anything? There are slim pickings though.”

“Holly could use a weapon,” Ignis noted. “And Cindy as well.”

Gladio snorted. “I doubt Holly could do much with her back injured like it is.”

“She did run the power plant though,” Prompto said. “Gotta take some skills to do that.”

Trying not to roll his eyes, he grabbed a couple of daggers and a gun and handed them to Noctis. “For Cindy,” he said, “And Holly if she wants it.”

“Hey guys? Looks like we got company!” Prompto whispered from behind them, and Gladio reeled around to see Noctis warp-striking to a soldier that must have caught sight of them while they were gathering weapons. 

“Let’s go!” Noctis shouted, shoving the soldier to the ground and racing back to the others. 

They’d have to be more careful, Gladio thought, as Ignis led them through another alleyway and through a series of intricate twists and turns that definitely was not the same route Gladio had been planning on taking them, but didn’t really matter as long as they got where they needed to go.

Ignis came to an abrupt halt right before they reached the plaza, turning on his heels and holding both arms out to stop them. “We can’t go to the plaza,” he said softly. “Not with just the four of us. It’s completely overrun out there.”

“I can use my warp-strike,” Noctis started, but Ignis shook his head. 

“You will do no such thing. There are too many of them; you’ll run out of energy.”

“We _need_ supplies, Specs. Just have my back when I hit stasis. No big deal.” Noctis argued. He tried to duck under Ignis’ arm, but Prompto’s hand shot out and gripped Noctis tightly around the wrist. 

“Not yet, Noct,” he insisted. “My guns aren’t effective against them, and most of Iggy’s weapons are close range.”

Noctis shook his hand, trying to wrestle his arm free of Prompto’s grip.

“Listen. I’ve got techniques too,” Gladio cut in. “I’ll handle the damn soldiers, you get the supplies. As many as you can grab, then call me and we book it.”

Ignis glanced at Noctis and Prompto. Sighed. “Fine. But no warp-strikes unless absolutely necessary.”

“Whatever, _mom_.”

Ignis let out a long-suffering sigh and stepped out of the way. 

Gladio grinned, reading his weapon. This was his element. He lunged into battle, greatsword swinging as heads turned toward him. He couldn’t hear whether or not the others were sneaking over to the supply stands but he didn’t have time to check. His sword smashed against metal and one of the Infected’s helmets topped off their head and it blinked, letting out a low growl as it came barreling toward Gladio.

He summoned his shield too, holding it out in front of him as he forced the Infected backwards, trying to get enough distance between them so that he could decapitate it with a single sweep. He was so caught up in the battle that when Prompto screamed, he almost didn’t hear it. 

“Status!” He shouted, hoping he’d get an answer. He didn’t have time to look for the others, his eyes trained on the Infected. Gods, the Infected just kept _coming_. 

“Prompto’s been injured,” came Noctis’ quick, panicked response. 

“Not a bite,” Ignis added quickly.

“I’m fine,” Prompto called, sounding like he was gritting his teeth and decidedly _not_ fine.

“This Infected over here figured out how to shoot its gun!” Noctis’ voice sounded from somewhere on the opposite side of Gladio than he’d been just seconds ago, and why on Eos did Noct split off from Ignis and Prompto, what was he thinking _?_

“Do it, Gladio!” Noctis yelled again. He warped over to Gladio, both of them timing a blow to bring down another one of the Infected. “Backpack’s full of food, armiger’s got as many supplies as I could find. Let’s get out of here!” He shouted. 

“I’ve got Prompto!” Ignis called, ignoring Prompto’s protests that he could walk and it wasn’t that bad, and Gladio turned and followed Noctis out of the plaza. 

“We have to lose them,” Ignis said, and Gladio could see the gears turning in his head as he quickly analyzed their surroundings. “Over here.”

He could see the Infected popping up everywhere now, around every corner, seemingly endless, but couldn’t stop to think or try to attack. They just had to get back to the hotel. 

Something grabbed for Gladio’s leg and he nearly stumbled, swinging his greatsword downward, trying to regain his balance. 

“Go! Hurry!” Noctis screamed from behind him, and he was _trying_ , damn it. Gladio swung his greatsword at the cold fingers around his leg. The blow from his sword seemed to loosen the resistance around his leg and a rotted hand dropped to the ground. 

Gladio swallowed back his disgust as the smell of blood hit his nose and moved faster, allowing himself once glance behind him to make sure Prompto and Ignis were still keeping pace.

They were. Ignis wasn’t carrying Prompto now, but was instead sort of dragging him along as the blond half-hopped, half-stumbled behind him.

Gladio was the first to reach the hotel. He yanked the doors open and then pushed Noctis in ahead of him, slamming the doors shut once Ignis and Prompto were safely inside. Noctis helped Gladio barricade the door, and then crumpled to the ground, taking deep gasping breaths.

Gladio turned his attention to Prompto, fuming. “What the hell was that?” He snapped. “What happened back there? You could’ve gotten yourself killed!”

“I’m sorry!” Prompto squeaked. “I- I went in and tried to hit the guy with my auto crossbow, but the Infected must’ve pulled the trigger of the gun he was carrying as a reflex and it got me in the foot, but I’m okay, really! It won’t happen again!”

Prompto was scared, he could see that much. Gladio vanished his greatsword, ignoring the wide-eyed looks from Iris and Nyx as they raced over to see what had happened. He wasn’t mad at Prompto, per se. He had just been doing what they all were doing and trying to kill the Infected.

It was more so that they all knew the Infected could learn, and he wasn’t sure whether or not Prompto had managed to kill the one that had accidentally shot him. And if he _hadn’t_ , it had just learned how to shoot a gun.

And of course, now Prompto was hurt, and the Infected were probably going to start banging on the back door any minute.

Gladio crossed the room over to Prompto, instructing him to sit down and prop his leg up so he could get a good look at it.

“Ignis, would you grab the medical supplies? I’m gonna need to take a look at this.”

Noctis hovered nearby, peering over Gladio’s shoulder to the point where he was more than a little annoyed as he helped Prompto take off his boot and tossed it on the ground. “Where did it shoot you?”

“Just my foot, here, it wasn’t aiming or anything, it just kinda happened.” Prompto was pale, and he cringed as he peeled off his bloody sock. “Um, it looks worse than it is, right? Tell me it looks worse than it is.”

“Keep it together,” Gladio ordered. “You’ll be fine. I just need to see what we’re dealing with.” The wound didn’t look very deep, which came as a relief to him. The way Noctis had been acting, he’d thought it was a lot more serious than it was. 

“You’re just grazed,” he said, stepping aside as Ignis returned with the bag of supplies and kneeled down in front of Prompto.

“We just need to clean it and bandage it up,” Ignis told him, gently. “But no more supply runs with us for a couple days. We can’t risk another injury. You won’t be at your best if you’re slowed down.”

“So the wound’s not serious?” Noctis asked, from his spot over Gladio’s shoulder. 

“No.” Ignis took care in cleaning the wound, and Prompto was surprisingly quiet while he did so, although Gladio could see that he was tightly gripping the edge of the bench, only letting out a hiss when Ignis bandaged it up.

“There you go,” he said, patting Prompto’s leg and straightening back up. 

“…What happened out there?” Iris finally asked, and when Gladio looked over again he saw that she had migrated over to Noctis. “How’d Prompto get hurt?”

“One of the Infected,” Ignis answered. “A soldier from Niflheim. Prompto and I were teaming up against them at the plaza. Our attack caused the soldier to accidentally fire his rifle and it clipped Prompto. We had to run, but we got what we came for.”

“Guess it really is just a scratch,” Prompto said. He tried to get to his feet but winced, squeezing his eyes shut as his leg seemed to buckle under him. “Hurts more than a scratch, though.”

Noctis steadied him, helping him sit down. “Maybe you should take it easy.” 

Prompto stared at Noctis, allowing him to help him back down to the bench. “I am fine though,” He sighed. “You don't have to worry about me so much.”

"But I do," Noctis replied.

Gladio turned to Iris, summoning the sword he’d picked out for her. “Look what I got.”

Iris gasped, eyes going wide as she reached out a hesitant hand toward the sword. “Really, Gladdy? This is mine?”

“All yours. Told ya I would. Here.” He passed it to her, pleased that she seemed comfortable handling it. 

“It’s beautiful,” Iris breathed, awe-struck. She peeked at the decorations near the handle, touching it gently. “Thank you! When can we start training?”

Gladio smiled. “We can start now if you want.”

Ignis raised an eyebrow. “And I suppose that means I’m left with putting away the supplies we all risked our lives for.”

“You mind?” 

Iris was clearly already itching to start learning how to use her first proper weapon, and Prompto should probably refrain from hopping around like he usually did, and Noctis… well, it was Noctis.

“I can help,” Prompto offered, to which Gladio and Ignis both shot down.

“You should be off your feet for a bit,” Ignis said, more gently. “I can handle the supplies.”

“Thanks, Iggy.” Gladio turned to Iris, putting a hand on her shoulder. “Let’s go. There’s an empty room upstairs that’s probably big enough to train in. I’d usually prefer a gym or the outdoors for this kind of thing, but…” he shrugged. “Not gonna work for us. Prompto, I can help you upstairs?”

Prompto smiled weakly. He nodded.

“Ignis, how 'bout I help you put away the supplies?” Nyx asked, as Gladio helped Prompto to his feet, Iris in tow as they headed up the stairs. 

Gladio could tell Iris was thrilled to start practicing right away, and he was eager to teach someone who seemed so excited to learn for once. A far cry from Noctis, who spent half their sessions complaining and the other half showing up late despite Ignis dropping him off on time, which seemed rather suspicious to him. 

“Think you take it from here?” Gladio asked Prompto once they reached the second floor. 

“Yep! Definitely!” Prompto answered. He pulled quickly away from Gladio, hobbling down the hall without saying another word. Gladio watched perplexed as the blond vanished into his room. 

He stared at the door for a few more seconds, half-expecting Prompto to open it back up, but when he didn't, Gladio turned his attention back to Iris. "Is it just me or was that kind of weird?"

Iris shook her head. "If I was injured in battle, having all of you guys worried about me, I'd feel kind of bad about it too."

Gladio sighed. "Well, the room we want is up on the third floor,” he opened the door to the back staircase, following Iris upstairs. “I swiped the key for it the other day, thought we could all use it for training and workouts. Too bad the hotel doesn’t have a real gym, though.”

“That’s okay,” Iris chirped. “I’m just ready to learn how to use this sword! Soon I’ll be able to fight alongside you guys!”

Gladio chuckled. “You got a long way to go before that, kiddo. Let me show you the basics.”


	13. Chapter 13

The day after their last supply run, Holly had informed them that with no one working the power plant, the power that the meteorshards were supplying them would only last about a week, but that last she had remembered, there was a radio in the plant that the workers had used to communicate with the other outposts and towns around Lucis. 

She wasn’t equipped to go over there and fetch it herself, so Cindy had volunteered to lead Gladio and Cor into the power plant to grab the radio and book it back to the hotel. They’d managed it and returned to the hotel in record time, Cor expertly killing several Infected that had gotten in their way.

They’d set up the radio in the hotel lobby, on the check-in desk. They hadn’t heard anything from anyone, but just its presence alone was comforting. A reminder that someone might contact them if they kept checking.

Ignis, Iris, and Prompto had busied themselves by sorting through the non-perishables and using whatever would go bad the fastest for their meals. Gladio was itching to get out and find some fresh meat, but that was something they could worry about once they were more established.

Everyone else took turns patrolling the border in groups over the course of the next week, but with no idea about Lunafreya’s method of travel, they didn’t know if she just hadn’t shown up yet or if she had already arrived and they had missed her. 

When Gladio awoke that morning, Ignis was standing out on the balcony of their room, a can of Ebony in his hand as he looked out toward the city. Gladio could feel the gentle breeze even from the bed, and if he didn’t know any better, he would’ve thought things felt peaceful.

That feeling didn’t last long. 

“The power’s gone out,” Ignis stated, when he heard Gladio shift and sit up in bed. He inclined his head toward him. “I suppose we were lucky being in Lestallum. Holly told me a few days ago that all the other cities lost power after only a few days. We’re lucky ours lasted us the week. Once we run out of our supply of canned goods, we’ll have to brave the plaza again.”

“Don’t forget we’ve got cup noodles,” Gladio said. “That’ll buy us another couple of days.”

Ignis nodded. “Right. But—”

“But,” Gladio continued, knowing exactly what Ignis was about to say. “We probably should go out there before we run out of food, huh? Don’t want to be desperate when we go. That’ll only get people killed.” Gladio yawned, stretching his arms over his head. "Prompto’s healed up pretty well, I saw him training with Cor yesterday, so he’s gotta be all healed up by now. Maybe tomorrow we head out for some more supplies. We can avoid the plaza unless it’s absolutely necessary, but there’s a couple other vendors near the main city entrance, and a gas station just outside the city. Might be a good place to stock up on non-perishables.”

“A good point.” Ignis sighed. “At least we’ve still got a few luxuries left to us,” he said, taking a pointed sip of his coffee.

Gladio chuckled. “Yeah, you grabbed enough Ebony to last you a year.” He tossed the covers off, padding over to where Ignis stood and wrapped his arms around him. 

Ignis hummed, leaning into Gladio. “Not quite that much,” he murmured. “If things were normal, and we were just here visiting without all the Infected roaming about, I’d worry that people might see us up here. I imagine the news of the royal advisor dating the king’s shield would be all over the papers.”

“Probably.” Gladio could almost taste the rich scent of coffee as he leaned in and pressed a gentle kiss to Ignis’ neck. “… Would it bother you?”

Ignis exhaled into what could almost be a chuckle. “If everyone knew? I’m not sure. I’ve spent so much time over the years worrying over whether we’d be fired over it, whether there would be debates on if we would still put Noct first. But I suppose it’s the very least of our worries now.” 

Gladio nodded. “Yeah. I was kinda hoping things wouldn’t get this bad. That maybe hunters would step in, kill all the Infected, and we could rebuild.”

“As did I,” Ignis admitted. “But they’re trained to hunt beasts, not people. I’m sure the Infected have gotten to them, too. Or the survivors are taking refuge somewhere.” Mainly to himself, he mused, “What do you do when everyone is dead and the power’s out?”

“Not everyone’s dead,” Gladio assured him. “Not us. And we never know, we might hear someone over the radio.”

They fell into a comfortable silence, and Gladio could tell Ignis was lost in thought, or possibly even not fully awake yet as he stared, as if transfixed, at the part of the city that they could see from the balcony. 

“We’ll have to use the shower sparingly, if at all.” Ignis said, after a moment, and Gladio laughed.

“That ain’t a problem for me. Dad, Iris and I used to go camping a ton when we were younger. Not anywhere special, just this one place Dad found on the outskirts of the city in his days traveling around Insomnia with King Regis, Cid, Cor, and one of his other friends— Weskham.”

“I’ve heard of him,” Ignis said.

“Right, well three people in a tent— got kinda smelly after a few days, but you get used to it pretty quick.” He smiled, recalling how much fun the three of them had had over the years. “Y’know, my dad loved that place ’cause it was outdoors and rugged and the only place still within the city walls that truly _felt_ like it was on the outside. He took me a couple times before Iris was born and I guess I wanted to go all out. No going down the street for a hot shower, no toilets, nothing. If I wanted to get clean, I’d have to bathe in the nearby river. It was absolutely freezing, but I loved every minute of it. After Iris got a little older, we started taking her, too. It’ll be like that, just more dangerous.” He laughed. “Though I have to admit, I’ll miss the hot showers.”

“Perhaps we can start collecting rainwater. Since there’s no telling how long this virus will remain a threat, it would do us good to start preparing for the long haul. The city water will only last us so long, especially if we do wish to shower on occasion. Do you suppose we could rig a tarp to collect water? I don’t know when it’ll rain, but we should be prepared.”

Gladio nodded. “Yeah, Cor and I could probably do that.”

“If we have extra rainwater, we could let it heat in the sun and potentially use that for bathing as well,” Ignis mused. “Though I doubt Noct would go for that. It’s hard enough getting him to shower as it is.”

“More for us then,” Gladio said with a laugh. “Not my problem. We can use the water he doesn’t use for other things. And if he really stinks, just grab him by the ankles and drag him to the water.”

Ignis snorted. “Don’t tempt me.” He took a long sip of his coffee, and Gladio squeezed him tighter, not wanting the moment to end. It was almost like out here, watching the sunrise, there was no virus. There was nothing out there trying to kill them. It was just him and Ignis, enjoying the morning, overlooking the city Clarus had always spoken so fondly of. 

“I do worry about Noct, though. More than ever, now. He’s… this has been hard on him. First losing Insomnia, then his father, and Luna’s whereabouts being so uncertain. I’ve grown up with him; I know how he deals with things. He won’t talk to us. He’ll just… withdraw. Get angry. And I… if there’s anything I can do to help him bear his burdens, I will.”

“I know,” Gladio replied. “He’ll be fine, though.” He still thought Ignis was too soft when it came to Noctis, but that was a discussion for another day. “Think anyone else is awake yet?” he asked, as he leaned down to kiss Ignis’ neck again, and this time Ignis turned to capture Gladio’s lips with his own.

“Nyx will be, he and I have similar routines. The marshal too, perhaps.”

Gladio nodded. He lingered for a few more moments, savoring the moment he had with Ignis before stepping away. “I guess I should get on with my workout. Then maybe we round out some people for patrol.”

Ignis started to answer, but stiffened. When he spoke, Gladio could hear the concern in his voice. “Gladio, do you see that?” 

“What’s wrong, Iggy?”

“The Infected,” Ignis replied, pointing down to a group of what looked like nearly thirty Infected congregating around the side of the hotel. “It looks like they’re… gathering.”

***

“We need to do something,” Gladio said, gesturing to the front door of the hotel, barricaded up with anything they could find. “Because if we don’t, _they_ will. Iggy and I saw them gathering outside, and it’s only a matter of time before they do whatever they’re planning. We have to act before they do.”

“But what about Luna?” Noctis asked. “What if we drive the Infected away from us and right to her? She might not even know it’s dangerous here yet.”

“That’s a chance we’re just going to have to take,” Gladio replied. “We have to protect ourselves, too.”

“Have you tried calling Umbra?” Nyx suggested. “Perhaps he has a message from the princess.”

Noctis shook his head. “I tried, but he didn’t come. I don’t know why, sometimes he just doesn’t show up. I’ll keep trying.”

“What about Pryna?” Prompto asked. “Maybe she can give us another vision?”

“I see her even less than I see Umbra,” Noctis replied, miserably.

“Well, the matter stands that we need to draw these Infected away from the hotel,” Cor said. He cleared his throat, catching everyone’s gaze and commanding attention. “Spread the group of them that are gathering nearby so they can’t use their numbers against us. A horde could spell death for all of us. We get out there, and we break them up.”

“Noctis, go with Ignis, Gladio and Prompto,” Nyx directed. “I’ll take Cindy and Iris. Holly, would you lead Cor to the power plant? You know your way around Lestallum better than anyone. Maybe the two of you can trap some of the Infected inside the plant there.”

“I’d love to help,” Holly started. “But my back starts acting up every time I even think about going out there and facing those things again. I can describe the layout of the power plant to you though, I know the place like the back of my hand.” 

“I can go with Cor in Holly’s stead,” Cindy said, stepping forward. “I know that power plant almost as well as Holly here does, if I do say so myself. You can count on me.”

Nyx nodded. “Works for me. Marshal?”

“No problem. Let’s move.” Cor readied his Katana. “Cindy and I will go out the back, that’s the most direct route to the power plant. Holly, lock the door once we’re through. The rest of you, go the front way. One group can cut over to the east. Do whatever you can to split up that horde.”

“Then let’s get moving.” Gladio said, determined. Every moment they stood there planning a course of action, the creatures were gathering and getting smarter and stronger. “Holly, cover us. And keep an eye out for Lunafreya on the chance that she does show.”

“Sure thing,” Holly replied.

The moment they stepped out of the front door of the hotel, the Infected turned toward them. Most of them were Niflheim soldiers, but Gladio could also see several townspeople of all ages, and women in uniform that he assumed had been Holly’s colleagues from the power plant. 

Nyx and Iris wasted no time in hightailing it down the street, and Gladio bounded over to the left side, allowing himself a single glance behind him to make sure some of the creatures were following them and hadn’t all chased after Nyx and Iris.

They were. A good number of the Infected were coming after them now, clambering over each other in an attempt to be the first to reach them. Gladio took a sharp turn down another back alley, the sounds of snarling and snapping teeth seemingly coming from every angle.

“Gladio, over here!” He heard Ignis call and Gladio turned around to see Ignis grab hold of Noct and pull him down a different alley. He tried to make his way backwards, but Prompto was right behind him, blocking him from getting to Ignis and Noctis. He growled under his breath as he turned back the way he had been running, barking at Prompto to keep up with him.

He hadn’t counted on getting separated from the other two so quickly, but hopefully they’d meet back up with Ignis and Noctis soon. As long as he could keep Prompto in his sights, he knew Ignis would keep Noctis safe wherever the two of them were going. 

Gladio led Prompto through a couple more back alleys and then finally, they were out in the open. Gladio immediately summoned his greatsword, slicing his way through a group of three Infected that were in front of him. 

“Prompto, let’s loop around back,” he started, turning to see Prompto point above them at Noctis, who was balancing on the rooftop of a building and gesturing to an escape ladder on the building just to the right of them. 

“Climb up!” Noctis was shouting. 

Prompto grabbed hold of the ladder and started to climb and Gladio followed suit, taking hold of the bottom rung as soon as Prompto had gotten high enough.

“Behind you!” Noctis shouted. A dagger whizzed by Gladio’s ear, making contact with flesh just below him as he heard the thud of a body falling back down to the ground. 

“I couldn’t get a clean shot, it’ll have only slowed it down!” Ignis called, reaching a hand out to help Gladio up the rest of the way. “Hurry. It won’t be long before more of them try to climb.”

Gladio reached the roof, keeping an eye on Prompto as Noctis warped to the roofs of other buildings. Ignis was keeping pace with Noctis by making use of a hook-shot that he’d apparently found. Gladio had no idea where it had come from, but clearly Noctis and Ignis had been luckier than Gladio and Prompto had. 

“I can see the hotel from here!” Noctis exclaimed, and with another blue flash, he vanished somewhere back on solid ground, Ignis grappling down only seconds after. 

“We’ve got to do it the hard way. You ready?” Gladio asked Prompto, craning his head back toward the blond, who nodded. He grabbed onto the rungs of another escape ladder, but as he climbed down, it was apparent that something was very wrong with their hotel. The right half of the front door was completely missing, as if something— or someone— or multiple someones, had bashed it in. 

“Noct had exhausted his warping!” Came Ignis’ concerned voice from somewhere nearby. 

Gladio couldn’t see where he was. He muttered a curse under his breath and without waiting to see if the others were following, shoved aside the remains of the left door as it hung on its hinges, torn to shreds. Inside, several Infected had broken into the bottom floor of the hotel, and all of them save for one wheeled around to face Gladio as he forced his way into the building. 

He headed for the one that hadn’t looked up. It was a woman— one with short, dirty blonde hair and a uniform— and she was scrabbling at the remains of the right door where it was pressed up against the wall of the front lobby.

“Jeanne, please!” Came a panicked voice behind the door. “Stop this, it’s me!”

 _Holly_.

Once Gladio got close enough, he grabbed the infected woman by the collar of her uniform, tearing her away from the door and shoving her off to the side.

“Holly!” He shouted. “Hold on. I’ll get you out of there.”

“My leg’s crushed,” Holly whimpered. “I’m so sorry, it got caught between the door and the wall here and everything collapsed. This is my fault! I let her in. I didn’t know she was…”

Gladio still couldn’t see Holly to gauge her condition, but he did catch a glimpse of Prompto slipping into the diner off to his left and then Ignis was beside him, summoning his polearm. 

“Get Holly free,” Ignis ordered. “I’ll keep the Infected off your back. Noct, a hand!”

“On it!” Noctis shouted, running over to join him.

Gladio quickly scanned the door. If Holly’s leg was caught underneath, he didn’t want to just roll the door off her, but he doubted he was strong enough to lift something so big. It must’ve taken a good number of Infected to have gotten it off its hinges in the first place.

“Did she bite you?” Gladio asked, casting a glance over his shoulder to make sure Ignis and Noctis were successfully holding off the Infected before getting a grip on either side of the door and trying to lift it. 

Even a little would be enough. Just so that Holly could pull her leg free.

“No,” Holly sounded shaky and breathless, and Gladio hoped she was telling the truth. With the door lifted, Holly was able to free her leg just as Noctis shouted Ignis’ name.

Gladio spun around as one of the Infected gripped the sharp edge of Ignis’ polearm and pulled the weapon, and by extension, Ignis, closer to it. 

The Infected leaned forward in an attempt to take a bite out of Ignis’ shoulder and Ignis let go of his weapon, the jerking motion throwing him off balance as he tried to regain his footing. The Infected tried to bite Ignis again when it flinched, blood splattering as it collapsed forward onto the floor, dead.

Ignis glanced up, eyes wide, to where Prompto was flashing them a thumbs-up from the entrance of the dining hall. “Still got it!” He grinned, holstering his gun. 

Still on edge from being blocked off and unable to help his teammates, Gladio turned his attention back to Holly as he shoved the door away and scooped her up. She had been right, there was no way she was walking on that leg. It was almost completely ruined, but to Gladio’s relief there was no bite. 

“She was knocking on the door,” Holly was murmuring under her breath. Gladio wasn’t sure whether she was talking to him or to herself, but he nodded anyway. “And it was Jeanne, I had to let her in. I just had to. But I didn’t realize she was Infected and before I knew it, there was more of them. So many more and they just… forced their way into the hotel. I tried to close the door back up and hold them off, but they were too strong. I’m so sorry. I couldn’t do anything!”

“You have a gun, right?” Gladio asked. “The one we gave you? Why didn’t you shoot them?”

“It’s not with me,” Holly groaned. “Upstairs.”

Gladio tried to suppress his frustration as he turned toward the others. Prompto was rapid-firing at another one of the Infected power plant workers and Noctis was running up the stairs while Ignis guarded the bottom of the staircase. He’d apparently traded his polearm for daggers, which would keep the Infected from knocking him off balance again, although he’d be forced into significantly closer combat. 

“The food,” Holly whimpered, as Gladio made his way for the stairs. He hesitated. “We can’t leave it down here.”

“I got some of it!” Prompto shouted as he shot another of the Infected. “Grabbed a couple things from the dining room before I knocked that Infected off Iggy!”

That was all they’d have time for. Gladio started to make his way over to the stairs when one of the Infected reeled around, and Gladio realized this was the one Holly had called Jeanne as it narrowed its eyes and threw itself at Gladio and Holly. Jeanne managed to get ahold of Holly’s arm and sunk her teeth into her shoulder, tearing a chunk out of her.

Holly screamed as more Infected fixed their sights on them, swarming toward Gladio faster than he’d ever seen them before. Gladio stumbled backwards, and between the blood and the Infected, Holly slipped from his grasp, still screaming.

“Gladio!” Ignis shouted. 

Gladio looked up to see Prompto darting from the dining room to the staircase, taking the steps two at a time as Ignis covered him. With a snarl, Gladio swung his greatsword and slashed Jeanne through the middle. 

The Infected woman took a step back and touched the slice in her stomach as if she wasn’t sure what had just happened. Gladio took that moment to swing at her again, this time going for the head. He hit his mark. The creature stumbled, and then collapsed dead under the weight of Gladio’s sword. 

Holly was still screaming, and when Gladio looked over, several more Infected had reached her, blocking her from Gladio’s view completely. 

Trying to tune out the sounds of ripping and Holly’s panicked shrieks, Gladio turned to Ignis and nodded, expression grim.

Thankfully, Ignis understand the nonverbal command to Get The Hell Upstairs while the Infected were focused on Holly and followed after Prompto. The second floor would be a lost cause; the grand staircase led right up to it and there was no way to block out the Infected, but the back stairwell to the third floor had a door, and they could barricade it and take refuge on the third floor of the hotel.

He hurtled up the stairs, following close behind Ignis as he reached the back stairwell and slammed the door, locking it. 

“What do we do?” Prompto fretted, as he and Noctis shoved boxes up against the door. “They’re everywhere!” 

“Not up here,” Ignis answered. “We can keep them out with the locks and barricades for now, but the first two floors are no longer safe. Depending on how much food you were able to grab, we can get by with that for now. We must keep an eye out for the others, intercept them before they reach the doors of the hotel…” he continued on, running them through a plan he’d likely come up with days ago as Gladio took note of the supplies. 

They didn’t have much. The food Prompto had gathered would last them a few days at best. And then they’d have to find a way to get out of the hotel to make supply runs. Gladio knew Holly had just been trying to help, but damn, they’d had a good thing going. 

He was covered in so much blood, the metallic tang so strong he could nearly taste it. With a grimace, he peeled off his shirt and wiped his hands with it, tossing it aside. 

Prompto was shaking. “Holly’s still alive down there,” he murmured. “I can hear her.”

“We all can,” Gladio replied. “I can’t save her. I tried, but… that friend of hers. Took a chunk out of her shoulder right in front of me. Maybe I should’ve killed her and spared her from the other Infected, but I didn’t have time. If Iris and the others are nearby hopefully they’ll have heard the commotion and stay away. Maybe we can find a window and try and lower something down to them— a ladder, or rope— to bring them up to us.”

“We made it _worse_ ,” Noctis frowned, brushing his hair out of his face. “We shouldn’t have left Holly here. Those Infected got in because we were careless.”

“They would’ve eventually gotten in either way, Noct,” Ignis replied. “We were only delaying the inevitable. And I believe our plan could’ve worked if we’d taken into account that the majority of the Infected were friends and colleagues of Holly’s. She likely just wanted to help them.”

“She needed to be smarter than that,” Gladio shot back. “Those power plant workers were already dead. They’d already turned. What was she thinking?”

Ignis shook his head. “What’s done is done. There should be a balcony in some of the larger rooms. Maybe we can spot the others.”

“I see them!” Prompto said, from a room at the end of the hall. “Nyx and Iris at least.” When Gladio and the others entered the room, he was waving frantically from the balcony. 

“Good.” Gladio shrugged off his relief— they weren’t in the clear yet— and joined Prompto on the balcony. “Someone find me something to lower down to them.”

Noctis shoved a rope unceremoniously into his hands and Gladio lowered it down. “First floor’s compromised. Over here!” He shouted, hoping that Nyx and Iris would get over to the balcony faster than the Infected that had undoubtedly heard him.

Nyx and Iris glanced up, racing over as Gladio tied knots in the rope and started to lower it down. 

“Help me hold this!” He called over his shoulder at the others, and with their combined strength they were able to keep a tight grip on the rope while Iris climbed up.

Gladio expected Nyx to grab hold of the rope next, but instead he was turning and running the other way. “Nyx!” Gladio shouted. “What are you doing?”

“I’m going back!” Nyx shouted. “Cor and Cindy are still at the power plant. I gotta warn them!” Before Gladio had the chance to respond, Nyx vanished down one of the streets. 

“We can only hope that Cor and Cindy were more successful than we were,” Ignis sighed, a frown tugging on the corners of his lips. “Once everyone else is back safely, we can recalculate. Start negotiating patrols for more supplies.”

Iris finally seemed to catch her breath, and she peeked out at the streets. “I can’t see anyone but Infected down there. And the hotel… Gladdy, what happened?” She turned to look at Gladio, eyes wide, no doubt spotting the blood on his right arm. “Is that yours?” Her voice wavered.

“No. Holly’s. I was carrying her.” Gladio replied. He had to thank the Astrals that at least Holly had stopped screaming. “Some of the Infected used to be power plant workers,” he explained. “I guess one of ‘em knocked on the door, and Holly opened it. Hesitated. They broke the door down and killed her. Second floor was mostly safe, but since the stairs lead right up to it we had to forfeit it and barricade ourselves up here. Prompto got some food, but,” he shook his head, “It ain’t enough. At this point, it’s safer taking our chances patrolling the streets for food than it is trying to risk getting to the diner on the first floor. Too small a space, too many of them.”

“And I guess we’re outnumbered, too.” Iris hung her head. “Poor Holly. I’m glad you’re safe.”

“She knew the risks,” Gladio replied. “Shouldn’t have opened the door.”

“Something Holly said back there,” Prompto said, fidgeting with his wristband. “The creature, it _knocked_ on the door. That’s something we might have done.”

Gladio sighed heavily. “Damn,” he muttered under his breath. “I knew things would get bad once they started grouping together. I guess we’ll just have to see how things are with Cor and Cindy once they get back.” He craned his neck to look over at Noctis. “Any word from Lunafreya?”

“No,” Noctis replied. He peered out the window. “Nothing.”

They all fell into an uneasy silence, Gladio running through their stock of supplies again just to keep his hands busy. He wanted to go out there and fight the other Infected himself, but he knew that wouldn’t do anyone any good. At least Iris was safe now. Seeing her back in one piece was a relief. 

Ignis was on edge, too. He stood motionless by one of the windows, brow furrowed, no doubt scanning the streets for any sign of one of their own. 

Finally, after what seemed like an hour (though Gladio supposed it couldn’t have been more than twenty minutes), Ignis exhaled and opened up the balcony door, tossing down the rope. “Gladio, Noct, Prompto. A hand.”

They were on their feet in minutes, Gladio bracing himself as Cindy climbed up, Nyx and Cor after. 

Iris rushed over. “How is it out there?” She asked. “Are you hurt?”

“We’re fine,” Cor answered, gruffly. “Cindy and I trapped quite a lot of Infected workers in the power plant, but there’s still a lot more. The whole city, mostly. It doesn’t look good.”

“We ran into a family on our way there,” Cindy said. “A ma and her daughter. I guess she used to work at the plant but was feelin’ ill and called in sick the day everything went down. We told ‘em to stay indoors, but they were the only ones we saw that were still human. I’m sure there’s more, but we didn’t see ’em.”

Ignis quietly filled them in on the situation as Noctis pulled the rope back up and closed the door. 

“We’ve barricaded the door to the lower floors,” Ignis finished. “I think it would be wise to let things settle down there and perhaps the Infected will tire of the hotel and some will wander out. One can only hope.”

“It’s a mess out there,” Nyx said. “We’re lucky none of us are hurt.”

“I wish I could say the same for Holly,” Gladio frowned. “Shit, it was gonna be fine. I _had_ her.” With a heavy sigh, he passed the bag of food over to Cor. “This is all we’ve got for now.”

Cor glanced over their supplies. “In that case, we should rest up,” he said. “We’ll need all our strength if we’re going to start having to send people out to find food.”

“I grabbed this on my way upstairs,” Noctis said, setting the radio they had procured the other day down on the nightstand. 

Ignis looked relieved. “We can use this room as a new base of operations. If any transmissions come in, we’ll hear it.”

Cor nodded. “Good idea.”

“We should figure out rooms, then,” Ignis said. “We can have a few people in here. I will take the room next door with Noctis, Prompto and Gladio.”

“I’m most familiar with these type of radios,” Cindy informed them. “Iris and I can stay in here.”

“Cor and I’ll take the other room, then.” Nyx put a hand on Cindy’s shoulder. “I’m really sorry about Holly. I know you two were close.”

Cindy gave him a thin smile. “Yeah, well,” she said, glancing away. “She taught me well. I reckon she’d want us all to keep going.”

“Keep on keeping on,” Prompto echoed.


	14. Chapter 14

“Prompto, you’re up!” Noctis shouted, ducking as Prompto jumped over him and shot the Infected soldier in the face. 

“Got it!” Prompto called back, and Gladio took advantage of the opening that Prompto had given them to drop into one of the vending shops and grab a handful of ingredients. Potatoes, canned beans, some vegetables, anything he could get as Prompto and Noctis zipped around the market. He couldn’t see Ignis, but he had to be nearby, the marketplace wasn’t very big.

One of the Infected popped up from behind the market stall Gladio was reaching for and rammed into it, knocking several ingredients off of the table. Gladio snatched up some peppers before they could hit the ground and booked it out of there, swinging his greatsword at the Infected shop vendor on his way out.   

“Gladio!” 

Gladio glanced up to see Noctis stuffing some tomatoes and rice into a bag and throwing it over his shoulder. “This’ll have to do!” Noctis was saying, warp-striking into another of the creatures and stabbing it through the eye. “They just keep coming!”

They could have probably gotten more if they’d used the armiger, but Gladio didn’t quite trust the food when it had been in the spectral plane for who knows how long, so backpacks had to do. Shoving the peppers into his bag, Gladio finally caught sight of Ignis as he used his hookshot to pull himself up onto a nearby building

“We need to get back to the hotel,” Noctis called. He glanced up at Ignis, gesturing to the others. “The others are probably wondering what’s taken us so long.”

Gladio barreled into another Infected, kicking it back as he did so, its head jerking back as it lost grip of the gun it had been holding. Gladio snatched the gun as it fell and threw it into the armiger. Some of them had learned how to use the weapons they’d had with them when they’d died, which meant he just had to disarm as many as he could as they made their retreat. 

He could see Noctis warping up ahead, keeping time with Ignis as the two of them worked their way back to the hotel. Prompto was at Gladio’s side, eyes peeled and firing at any Infected that got too close. 

They’d worked out a system of sorts. After only a few days of patrols, the four of them had fallen effortlessly into a rhythm. Not that Gladio had expected any less. This is what they’d all trained for— a royal retinue. A well-oiled machine. 

If only Clarus could see them now. _No more hesitating_. Gladio knew he’d be proud. 

Ignis had already made it to the balcony by the time Gladio got there. Prompto leapt for the rope that Ignis tossed down to them, and Noctis followed immediately after, Prompto and Ignis helping him onto the balcony.

“Quickly, Gladio!” Ignis called down as Gladio grabbed hold of the rope and began to climb. He wasn’t the only one, though. Just below him, one of the Infected took hold of the rope as well, its right hand curling around Gladio’s boot in a desperate attempt to pull him down.

“Prompto!” Gladio started to shout as he clutched the rope and stomped his free foot down on the Infected’s head. He didn’t need to say more— a quick shot, and the Infected’s grip loosened, crumpling back down to the ground, dead. Other Infected would have seen this one try to climb, which unfortunately meant that it was only a matter of time before more tried to do the same. They’d have to be extra careful with the rope from now on.

Prompto was breathing heavily when Gladio reached the top, either from adrenaline or exhaustion, as he holstered his gun. “We really did that!” He grinned. “Did you see how I shot that dude in the face?”

“Too busy climbing,” Gladio replied, gruffly. He glanced over Prompto’s shoulder at Noctis as the prince dug through the bags they’d all filled up with ingredients. 

“Specs,” Noctis was saying, “I think there’s enough stuff in here for that burly bean bowl you’ve been wanting to make. Too bad there’s not any meat, though.”

Gladio licked his lips. “Doesn’t matter. It sounds delicious,” he said, cracking a smile and ignoring the way Noctis rolled his eyes. “Looks like we’ll eat good tonight.”

Ignis gave a quick nod. “Indeed,” he replied. “How are we? Anyone hurt?”

Gladio glanced over at the others. “Nah, we’re good,” he replied. “But those things can climb the ropes now— we’ll have to be more careful.” He brushed himself off. “Any of the other guys back from their patrol yet?” He asked. 

“We are.” Cor stepped into the room. He turned his attention toward Noctis. “But Miss Aurum found something that might spell trouble for us, your highness.”

Noctis stood. “What is it?” He asked, narrowing his eyes. “Not more Infected?”

“We aren’t sure,” Cor replied. “She spotted two Niflheim airships just outside the city, over near the gas station. We don’t know how long they’ve been there, but I’d say they’re relatively new. We haven’t seen them before today.”

Noctis wheeled around to look at Gladio, wide-eyed. “We have to go out there,” he said, grabbing his backpack up off the floor. “What if it’s Luna?”

“Hold it,” Gladio stepped in front of Noctis. “It could just be more of Niflheim’s soldiers.”

“We don’t know that!” Noctis tried to shove Gladio out of the way but he caught the prince’s arms before they could collide with his chest.  

Gladio narrowed his eyes. “Enough.” He shoved Noctis back. Not enough to hurt him, but to keep him away from the windows and balcony. The last thing he needed would be Noctis warping out of the hotel faster than any of them could react. 

“Hey, highness?” Cindy stepped into the room, radio in hand. “Cor and I went out to those airships when we saw ’em. They were empty. I even tried establishing a connection with the radio inside, but no such luck. No Infected, no soldiers, nothin’.”

Noctis clenched his jaw, gaze dropping to the floor. “A-are you sure?”

Cindy nodded, setting the radio back in its place on the nightstand. “Quite. Hate to break it to ya.”

This time when Noctis stepped over to the window, Gladio let him. To his relief, Noctis didn’t open it, just rested his shoulder against the glass and watched the darkening sky. “So where’s Nyx, then? Is he back yet? What does he think about all this?”

“He’s in the other room,” Cor replied. “Believe me, I have no doubts that he would accompany you out there in a heartbeat. It’s just not wise, especially this late in the day.”

“But we know Luna’s coming,” Noctis ground out, gritting his teeth. “And if she’s here, she could have been in one of those airships. She might be in danger.”

“And you’ve still had no luck in calling Umbra?” Ignis raised an eyebrow at Noctis, but the prince just shook his head. Ignis sighed. “I suppose we don’t have a whole lot of options, Noct. It isn’t wise to just run blindly into streets that are crawling with Infected soldiers and citizens. Visibility is poor after dark; we’ll be at a disadvantage if we can’t see the Infected clearly. If we wait until daybreak, we can all go down to the airships tomorrow, and…”

Noctis’ eyes widened suddenly, and he moved so quickly that Gladio barely had time to process it. One minute he was staring out the window at the sky, the next he was pulling open the sliding glass door and racing out to the balcony. 

“Hey, wait! Noct!” Prompto jumped to his feet, nearly stumbling over the backpacks of ingredients that they had gotten earlier that afternoon as he darted out onto the balcony to try to catch Noctis.

“I saw her!” Noctis called over his shoulder. “Just now! Ducking into an alleyway. I saw _Luna_!” 

Prompto had forced himself between Noct and the edge of the balcony, a hand on Noctis’ shoulder. “Listen, buddy,” Prompto was saying, “I want to see her as bad as you do, but don’t you think it would kinda suck if you raced out there and got killed before you even reached her? We can go in a group, have each other’s backs. What do you say?” 

Noctis glanced at Prompto, then over at the edge the balcony. Then back at Prompto again. He sighed. “Okay. But we’re going now. Who’s coming?”

“Me, of course,” Gladio pointed a thumb at himself. “Iggy too.”

“And I know these streets like the back of my hand,” Cindy said. “I’ll go too.” 

“Be careful out there,” Cor said. “If there’s any trouble, get back here as fast as you can.” He caught Noctis’ gaze, his mouth set in a stern frown, brow furrowed. “No arguments.”

“We’ll take care of him,” Gladio promised. He locked eyes with Cor. Nodded. “With any luck, we’ll bring Lunafreya back with us, too.”

Noctis lowered the rope and handed the end to Cor. He kept it high enough off the ground that the Infected couldn’t quite reach it, but still close enough that they could jump safely without getting hurt. Nyx helped steady the rope as the five of them climbed down.

As soon as Noct’s feet touched the ground, he warped into an alley with a flash of of blue that left Gladio and the others frustrated and in the dust. 

But at least he was far enough away from the Infected, who set their sights on Gladio the instant Noctis was gone, their mouths contorted into snarls before they raced toward them.

“Go on!” Gladio shouted at Cindy, pressing his back up against hers and facing the Infected head-on. He managed to cleave through a couple of them, his blade coming back tainted red as they staggered backwards. One of the Infected reached down as if trying to stop the bleeding as Gladio brought his sword up again to finish her off. 

Cindy grabbed a fistful of his shirt and pointed to an alleyway, ducking into it.

Once he was sure the Infected he was fighting were dead, Gladio followed her. “You see where the others went?” 

“To the right,” Cindy replied, breathless. Her eyes were wide, but her gun was steady in her hand. “Although it wouldn’t be smart to try and follow, the Infected closed in behind ’em. We would run right into the horde if we tried to continue that way.”

It was far too easy to get separated out here. Gladio peered around the corner of the alley, trying to spot Noctis— the blue of his warp-strike, the sound of Prompto’s guns, Ignis, _something_ , but he could only hear the hurried footsteps of the Infected, their moans deafening.

It was several long minutes before Gladio heard the crack of gunshots. He turned to Cindy, gesturing for her to follow as he crouched down and snuck into an adjacent alley. Posters littered the walls, advertising a concert that was supposed to be held tonight just outside the Leville. 

 _No chance of that happening now_ , Gladio thought with a grimace. _Nobody left alive for it_.

Cindy followed him, her knees nearly scraping the ground as she stayed low and held her gun ready.  

The shots continued, getting louder as they crept closer, and after a few more steps, Gladio could finally make out Noctis’ voice.

“Umbra!”

Gladio turned to look back at Cindy. “That’s Noct—” he started. But his next words died in his throat when he saw that Cindy had her gun pointed at him.

No. Not at him. _Behind him._

Cindy screamed at him to get down as she shot an Infected that was tearing through the alley toward him. As he ducked down, he spotted a different Infected coming down the alley directly behind Cindy and Gladio lunged for her, pressing her to the ground as the Infected just barely missed grabbing Cindy by the hair. 

He rolled off, pulling Cindy to her feet and sliced his greatsword at the Infected’s legs. It took a step back, and Cindy aimed her gun and shot it through the head. 

She caught Gladio’s gaze, eyes wide, dirt and dust smearing her cheeks as she tried to catch her breath. “Thanks for that.”

Gladio shrugged it off. “You saved me, too. We gotta get a move on. You okay?”

Cindy nodded. She collected herself and Gladio redirected his attention to where he had just heard Noctis. He didn’t see him or any of the others, but he did spot Umbra a few hundred feet away. The dog was standing in front of the door of a house, the dead bodies of Infected littering the ground of the street in front of him.

Umbra blinked up at Gladio from the doorway and barked once.

“I’m coming,” Gladio told the dog. He looked over his shoulder at Cindy. “That’s Umbra. We should follow him, but we’re going to have to step over the bodies here.” He reached out for her hand. “Need a hand?”

“Naw, I got it.” Cindy took a calculated step over one of the bodies. “Thanks anyway.” 

The two of them moved in sync, each step bringing them closer to Umbra, who was watching them patiently, tail wagging. He barked again. 

Gladio shot Umbra a look. The Infected here might be dead, but there were hundreds more lurking about and they would undoubtedly be alerted if Umbra kept making so much noise. He took another step but miscalculated, and his boot landed on one of the Infected’s outstretched arm.

He jerked backwards with a grimace, nearly bumping into Cindy as she thrust her arms out to stop him. “What is it?” She asked. 

Gladio swallowed. “Nothing. Misstep.”

The door Umbra was standing in front of swung open.

“Gladio!” Noctis exclaimed. “Cindy! In here!” 

Umbra turned and ran through the door, stopping beside Noctis to lick his hand before vanishing into the house. Noctis lingered in the doorway as Gladio and Cindy hopped over the rest of the dead bodies, all but falling into Noctis as they reached the house.

Noctis helped Cindy inside first, and once Gladio was safely in too, Noctis hurriedly shut the door.

“What is this place?” Gladio asked, looking around. It had clearly been someone’s home at some point; he could spot broken picture frames on a table in the entryway, a dead houseplant beside the door. He thought he could make out a kitchen table, but there weren’t many windows and the setting sun made it harder to pick out many more details. “Did Umbra lead you here?”

“Yeah, but it wasn’t just _us_ he led here,” Noct replied, rubbing his neck. He pointed over at the kitchen table, and _oh_ — now it made sense. 

Lord Ravus stood beside one of the chairs, his arms crossed and mouth fixed into a grimace as he glanced over Gladio and Cindy. “Is this everyone that’s coming?” He asked. 

Gladio narrowed his eyes. If Ravus was here, that meant is higher-ups might be, too. The last thing they needed around here were more dangerous people. “Are you here to pick a fight?” Gladio snapped. He took a step toward Ravus, trying to make himself look as intimidating as possible, but Noctis threw his hand out to stop him.

“Wait!” Noctis exclaimed, putting himself in between Ravus and Gladio. “Luna’s here, too. And… some others from Niflheim.”

“Who’s to say we can trust them?” Gladio snapped. He readied his greatsword anyway, and with a curl of his lip, Ravus unsheathed his own sword. 

“Hey, ya’ll,” Cindy glanced between the three of them. “We should really be fighting those guys out there, not the few of us that are amongst the livin’.”

“Stay out of this.” Ravus didn’t even bother to look at Cindy as he took a step toward Gladio, as if daring him to make the first move. “You haven’t any idea of what we went through to get here.”

“You’re the ones who caused this shit in the first place!” Gladio clenched his jaw, his fists tightening around his greatsword. 

“Not intentionally, we didn’t.”

Gladio didn’t recognize the voice— or face, for that matter— of the woman who stepped into the kitchen. Her hair was silver-blonde, just a little darker than Ravus’. But she wasn’t of House Fleuret, at least not to Gladio’s knowledge. 

The woman must have sensed his confusion, and she sighed. “Name’s Aranea Highwind. I didn’t realize things would get this out of control. First our base is compromised, and then before we knew it, the whole world was crawling with those things. Should’ve kept them better contained. Shouldn’t have even been doing it in the first place.”

“Doing what?” Noctis asked. One glance at the prince told Gladio that he hadn’t heard the full story yet either.

Aranea pursed her lips. “… Might want to sit down for this,” she turned, waving a hand. 

“Where are the other two?” Gladio asked Noctis.

“Upstairs,” Noctis told him. “With Luna. I guess Umbra led her to this house, too. Just shortly before we got here. So she’s with Prom and Iggy double-checking that it’s safe.”

“Then we should get ’em,” Gladio told him. “We’re _all_ going to want to hear this.”


	15. Chapter 15

Aranea and Ravus led Gladio, Noctis, and Cindy upstairs and into a room where the other three were. Prompto had been excitedly chatting with Lunafreya, but fell silent when Aranea stepped into the room. 

“We’ve got one other guy with us, but he’s out checking around the city. I don’t know what he’s doing really, maybe scoping out the place or looking for any Niflheim survivors. He left shortly before you got here. But that’s probably for the best; he isn’t exactly on your side.” Aranea took a seat on the edge of one of the beds.

“Who?” Prompto asked. He shifted his weight from foot to foot, only pausing to glance over at Lunafreya, who sat in a chair near the upstairs window, hands folded neatly in her lap, a frown playing across her face.

“Chancellor Izunia.” 

Gladio could tell just by her tone that Aranea clearly was not a fan of this guy. 

“He’s caused a lot of people to get hurt,” she continued, “All in the name of science and honor to our empire. I’m done with Niflheim, though.” Aranea frowned. “It went too far. One of our scientists got infected, and before we realized, he’d bitten quite a few others. Then, of course, the damn power went out, and we were essentially overrun. I was the one who found the Princess here trying to escape. She was looking for an airship, and I was looking for a way out, so we struck a deal. I just didn’t expect we’d be followed.” Her gaze shifted over to Ravus. “Guess I should’ve known we wouldn’t get away that easy.”

“I was not about to let you make off with my sister!” Ravus hissed. 

“Ravus.” Luna interrupted, getting to her feet. “I told you I intended to go find Noctis. I was not going to let you cause him harm. I was simply fulfilling my promise.” She turned to look at Noctis. “I am terribly sorry for all the trouble my brother has caused you,” she said softly, bowing her head. “I only wish I had known what dangers lie here. I’m afraid we were not prepared. Those poor people; they must be suffering terribly. If only I could help save them from what Niflheim has done to them.”

Ravus drew his lips into a thin, disapproving line, and left the room, bumping Noctis aside as he did so. 

Gladio glared at Ravus’ back as he vanished down the stairs.

Noctis took a few heavy steps forward. He reached forward toward Lunafreya, as if he was afraid she would vanish if he got too close. “They’re undead,” he said. “Everyone that’s infected. They die and then they get up again.”

“It was meant to be a vaccine,” Aranea stated. “It was supposed to be _good_. The idea was that it would resurrect a fallen warrior so they could return home to their family after a battle. But it got out too early, and now it’s a virus that took the world faster than we could control it. If the Chancellor hadn’t been so ruthless with the testing…” she grimaced. “It was just to win the war. I was all for it if it meant helping our own, but there were no limits. Not even winning the war was worth what we did to all those people. I came to offer my services.” She pushed off from the bed, coming to Noctis and kneeling before him. 

“I ask that you let me help in any way I can,” she said. “I know it doesn’t change what we’ve done. But Lestallum is known for its technology. I helped create this virus. I might be able to create something that can cure it.”

“Please,” Lunafreya added. “Noctis. Let us join you. I believe we may be able to cure these people. Ending this virus might be the only way we can fix things. We can still have a chance at bringing peace back to our world.”

Gladio shook his head. “Nah. There’s no saving the people that are already Infected. Once they’re bitten, it’s in their blood. Then when they die, they turn. We’ve seen it happen.”

Aranea narrowed her eyes. “It wasn’t ever supposed to _kill_ them.”

“Yeah, well, it wasn’t supposed to even exist,” Gladio retorted. 

“We cannot lose hope,” Lunafreya took Noctis’ hands in her own. Noctis released the breath he must have been holding as their hands met. “Please, Noctis. We can work together.”

“About that,” Ignis said. He turned to Noctis and Lunafreya, kneeling beside Noctis. “I know we discussed a royal marriage before, however if all that’s left of the Empire is Lunafreya, Ravus, and two others, I believe it would be in our best interest to postpone any plans of a wedding until we’ve dealt with the Infected.”

“Yeah, Glasses is right,” Aranea said, ignoring Ignis’ scoff at the nickname. “Niflheim’s looking pretty pathetic right now. Our ‘secret weapon’ all but backfired on us. Wiped us all out. Marriage won’t do a damn thing, we’re too scared and scattered. We ended the war all right, but we lost just about everything doing it.”

Noctis listened quietly. “I understand,” he replied, standing. “We’ll call off the wedding, and we’ll let Commodore Highwind look into a cure. But no more Niflheim after this. We need to rebuild Eos under a single kingdom. No more secret weapons.”

Lunafreya nodded. “Nothing would make me happier.”

“I hate to break up the moment,” Aranea interrupted, “but Izunia probably won’t be gone for much longer. I don’t really know much about him other than that he showed up outta nowhere and climbed his way to the top, but he also still very much hates your kingdom, prince, so we should get going before he gets back.”

“I believe I heard my name.” 

Gladio turned, throwing himself in front of Noctis as a man stepped into the room. He was a few inches shorter than Gladio, with auburn hair and a smirk that very much put Gladio on edge the moment he entered. 

The man tipped his hat. “Ardyn Izunia, in case you didn’t connect the dots.” He smirked in Noctis’ direction before lifting his right hand, a chain looped around his fingers, and pulled a bound Infected into the room. 

Ignis summoned his daggers the fastest. He poised to strike, but Ardyn wagged his finger. 

“Ah, ah, ah,” Ardyn pouted. “Now, that isn’t any way to greet a stranger, is it? And besides, don’t think I didn’t hear you planning to leave me behind in this old house. You’re lucky I came back when I did, too, because three of these fellows here had simply let themselves inside.”

“The Infected opened the door?” Gladio asked. 

“Are you surprised?” Ardyn asked, raising an eyebrow. “In any case, I captured them. Perhaps Lord Ravus awaits in the hall holding the other two? I wouldn’t leave me behind if I were you, I’m much more dangerous when I’ve been wronged.”

Gladio could tell Ignis was seething. He was, too. 

Prompto aimed his gun at the chancellor’s head. 

“Are you really sure you want to do that?” Ardyn cocked his head. “If you kill me or this Infected, Ravus might just let the other two in, and I can’t say who they might bite before you manage to kill them.”

Ignis reached out to lower Prompto’s gun. “What do you want from us?” He asked.

“Me?” Ardyn asked. “Why, I thought you’d never ask. I simply wish to join you. In exchange for a haven that the undead cannot just waltz into, I suppose I’ll let you live.”

“Some deal,” Gladio growled. “Do you really think we’ll agree to that?”

“We will,” Noctis said, stepping out from behind Gladio. “We accept your deal. You can come with us. But one wrong move and you’re out. There’s more of us than there is of you, we can take you.”

Ardyn raised an eyebrow. “Very well. But I also do have some medical expertise. You might need me more than you know.” 

“Doubt it.” Gladio crossed his arms. He hated that Noctis was agreeing to this. It sounded like a terrible idea to him. “I’ve heard that Lady Lunafreya knows a lot of medical stuff herself. Anything we need, we can get from her.”

Ardyn glanced over at Lunafreya. “Very well,” he said. He pulled the Infected closer to him and shoved a bag over its head. “But don’t think I won’t still release them on you if you try to harm me.”

Gladio clenched his jaw, and he noticed Ignis mirroring his expression with a similar look of unease. 

“I had a friend that used to work at the power plant,” Cindy told Lunafreya, helping her to her feet. “Her name was Holly. She… didn’t make it. But she managed to collect a couple of tools and stuff before she had to abandon the plant. Maybe it’ll be helpful with researching a cure.”

“I am so sorry.” Lunafreya took Cindy’s hand. “I do not like thinking this way, but perhaps we can use the afflicted that Ardyn captured to see if anything Aranea comes up with works. I am not foolish enough to think we can do this without harming a single one, but I will do what I must to save as many people as I can.”

Aranea nodded. “Sure.” She narrowed her eyes at Ardyn. “I guess we’ll take the three you caught back with us, then.”

“There’s a whole lot more of ’em too where we’re going,” Gladio told them. “The first two floors of our hotel were compromised, but we blocked off the emergency staircase so unless a whole bunch of them discover that back way overnight or suddenly learn to fly up to the balcony, we’re pretty safe for the time being.”

“Never would’ve done any of this if I knew it would cause this much trouble,” Aranea muttered under her breath. “Got a lot to make up for, that’s for sure.”

“Let’s hurry back to the hotel before other Infected decide to drop in.” Ignis vanished one of his daggers but not the other. “After you, Ardyn.”

Ardyn smiled. “Very well. Ravus!” he called over his shoulder. “Cover up the faces of the undead you have. We’re coming out.”

There was a shuffling as Ravus presumably did as he was told. Ardyn was first to leave the room, pulling the Infected soldier behind him. Gladio followed, peering into the hall to make sure it was safe. 

Ravus stood a ways down the hall, a chained holding an Infected in each hand. “I did not sign up for this, Ardyn,” he sneered. “You’re lucky I’m the only one still loyal to you.”

“Ah, Ravus,” Ardyn replied. “I believe _you’re_ the lucky one.” 

Gladio and the others followed Ravus and Ardyn downstairs (at a safe distance, Gladio wanted nothing to do with those Infected). Ignis was at his side, keeping a keen eye on Ardyn and Ravus. From what Aranea said of Ardyn, he clearly didn’t like Noctis, and that wasn’t a risk anyone was going to take. 

“I don’t like this,” Gladio heard Prompto say, and he slowed to allow the blond to fall into step with him. 

“None of us do,” Gladio admitted. “But it might be safer keeping this dude in our sights. He could be more dangerous than we know.”

“He’s the chancellor of the Niflheim army, of course he’s dangerous,” Ignis replied. “We can’t let our guard down.”

To their relief, no other Infected had entered the house while they were upstairs. Umbra glanced up at them as they came down, yawning and stretching before trotting over to Noctis. 

Noctis hoisted Umbra up and over his shoulder. “You didn’t keep very good watch for us down here, boy,” he chastised the pup, scratching him between the ears. 

“And you’re not doing very well in disciplining him, either,” Ignis said. “You might want to put him down before we go into the streets. Umbra may be immortal, but you, highness, are not. You’ll need to have your hands free.”

Noctis just quirked a smile and shrugged. “Fine.” He lowered Umbra to the ground and gave him another pat as Gladio opened the door. 

They didn’t even have any time to collect themselves before the Infected spotted them. Gladio sliced through some of the Infected plant workers, their blood staining the blade of his sword as they split in two, still screeching. 

Cindy and Prompto shot two Infected townspeople in the head as they passed by, and Ignis reeled around to plunge his dagger into the exposed bit of neck between a solider’s armor and their helmet. 

“Ignis!” Noctis shouted. 

“On my way!” 

It was difficult to keep tabs on everyone, but once Gladio was sure Ignis had gotten to Noct’s side, he joined Prompto, incapacitating the Infected coming at him with his greatsword while Prompto finished them off with a well-aimed shot.

“Look at us go!” Prompto cheered. “We’re unstoppable!”

“We’re not out of the clear yet,” Gladio told him. He did a quick scan of the area to find the newcomers. Aranea was in the air, landing some kind of aerial attack with her lance that Gladio had never seen before, but it was clearly powerful, and it shook the ground when she landed, throwing everyone (save for Gladio) slightly off-balance.

Gladio started to tell her to watch it, but as he turned, he spotted an Infected woman tearing down the street toward Ardyn. Without even so much as flinching, Ardyn jerked his hand and brought the chained Infected in front of him. The attacking Infected sunk her teeth into the chained one’s shoulder and she froze, shuddered, and took a step back. She blinked. And then reached forward to pull the bag off the chained Infected’s head.

The momentary pause was all they needed, and Ardyn pulled out a gun and shot the Infected through the head. 

Noctis warped over to Lunafreya. “Let’s go!” He shouted, grabbing her hand and leading her toward the hotel. “Prom, cover us?”

“You got it!” Prompto took up the rear, shooting at the Infected as they came at them from the alleyways. 

Maybe the captured Infected were useful after all, Gladio thought as he made his way to the hotel. He and Ignis worked in tandem, with Gladio killing the Infected on the right while Ignis took care of the ones on the left. 

Gladio didn’t even fully register that he was falling until he hit the ground. His greatsword clattered onto the pavement and he had to vanish it to avoid landing on it. His knees hit hard, and he threw his arms out to catch himself, cursing under his breath. 

Someone had tripped him.

“Gladiolus, watch yerself!” Cindy shouted, and Gladio heard gunshots echoing from around him. He finally spotted the Infected that had tripped him just as another jumped out from behind a building.

A flash of blue and both Infected were dead. Noctis grinned at Gladio, twirling his sword. “Hey Gladio, thought you were supposed to shield me.” He tried to warp again, but instead of vanishing, he only lurched forward. “Stasis. Damn it.” he muttered. 

“Stick with me then,” Gladio replied. “Lunafreya safe?”

Noctis nodded. “With Iggy.” 

“Good. Let’s kill these things.” With Noct’s help, Gladio was able to clear the way for the others. His team was holding their own, which came as a relief to him. The darkness of the city at night wasn’t helping their visibility, but it wasn’t much longer before Gladio caught sight of the Leville up ahead. He could see a figure climbing up to the balcony— Iggy or Luna, Gladio couldn’t tell for sure, but at least they were safe.

“Ignis!” Noctis shouted. “Hookshot!”

The figure still on the ground—Ignis, then— tossed the hookshot to Noctis, who caught it. “We can get up two at a time this way,” he called to the others. “One with the hookshot, one with the rope.”

“You first,” Gladio told him. “I’ll hold off the Infected. Do we need to bring that dog of yours?”

Noctis shook his head. “He took off while we were fighting.” He used the hookshot to bring himself up onto the patio, tossing it back down to Gladio once he’d reached the top. 

“Got any ideas on how to bring the captured Infected up there?” Aranea called to Gladio. He handed her the hookshot.

“No,” he replied. “Ardyn and Ravus might have to carry them. It’s risky, but I don’t really give a damn about them, so if they want to bring the Infected, how they get them up is on them.”

“Fine by me,” Aranea replied. She took the hookshot. The others got up a similar route, but Gladio couldn’t focus on who climbed when; he was rather preoccupied with keeping the Infected at bay while the others got into the hotel. 

“Catch!” 

The hookshot came flying down from the window and Gladio scrambled to catch it, nearly missing as he clutched it against his chest. 

“Your turn, big guy!” Prompto shouted down at him. “Just you and Cindy left!” 

Gladio looked around for Cindy to give her the hookshot— he could just as well climb, but when he spotted her, she was already making her way up the rope. 

He aimed the hookshot, letting it propel him up to the balcony. He’d just climbed over when he heard Cindy scream. He turned to look at the scene below. 

One of the Infected had grabbed onto her boot, trying to pull her down far enough for its teeth to reach skin. It tore the boot off, Cindy letting out another scream as she kicked its head, trying to knock it off the rope.

Prompto shot at it, but in his panic, his aim was off, and it hit the Infected first in the shoulder and then in the arm before he finally managed to shoot it through the head. 

Breathing heavily, Cindy continued climbing and Gladio helped pull her up, bringing the rope up and tossing it back onto the balcony. 

“Are you hurt?” He asked gruffly, grabbing Cindy’s arm. “Did it bite you?”

“No.” Cindy’s eyes were wide. “It didn’t bite me, but…” she glanced down at her sock, kneeling and rolling it down to her ankle. Angry scratch marks glared at them from her ankle up to her calf. “It happened when it tore off my boot,” Cindy explained. “But it might be fine, maybe my sock was enough to stop it from infecting me.”

“Do you really think we can risk that?” Ardyn asked. 

“That is not your decision to make.” Ignis didn’t even bother to look at Ardyn, instead continuing to address Cindy: “We’ll have to monitor it. I can clean and bandage the scratch for now, but that’s all I can do. Perhaps Lady Lunafreya can take a look at it tomorrow. Or Ardyn,” the name came out sounding like a slight sneer, “If he wants to demonstrate his apparent medical expertise. You… will have to let us know if you start to fall ill, or if it the scratches seem like they’re irritated.”

Cindy nodded. “I will,” she promised. 

“Do we really think it’s a good idea to leave her alone tonight?” Ardyn asked. “After all, she could turn in the middle of the night and kill us all.”

As much as Gladio hated to admit it, Ardyn did have a point. They knew bites were enough to infect someone, but they had never seen whether or not a scratch would cause someone to turn. And Cindy had been sharing a room with Iris.

“Cindy,” Gladio said. “Would you mind sleeping in another room tonight?”

“It’s only a precautionary measure,” Ignis chimed in. “We’ve never dealt with this before. Aranea, you say you created this. Do you know the specifics of what causes the infection?”

Aranea sighed. “Hate to say it, but I don’t.”

“I don’t mind,” Cindy told them. “I don’t want to risk y’alls life with this. I’ll do whatever I have to do.”

“I can help you to your room,” Prompto offered. “There’s a room on the far corner that might be the safest for all of us.”

“I appreciate it,” Cindy replied. She rolled her sock back up, grimacing as it covered over the scratches. 

Ignis pursed his lips. “I’ll come along and patch you up, Cindy.”

“Wait,” Lunafreya said, putting a hand on Ignis’ arm. “Please allow me. I wish to help in any way I can, and it might give me an idea of how to help those already infected.”

Ignis seemed to mull it over for a moment. “Very well,” he said. “I’ll prepare that bean bowl we decided on before and bring some in for you three when I’m done.”

“Thanks, Igster.” Prompto smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. Without another word, he and Lunafreya led Cindy to the new room as Ignis collected the ingredients they’d collected from their first outing.

Gladio sat down on some boxes. If he’d only been paying more attention, they could’ve easily avoided something like this. But there was so many of them, and so many of the Infected, that he hadn’t been able to keep his eyes on everything at once. 

Nyx dropped down on the floor beside him, one knee bent as he rested his arm on it. “So you found the princess,” he said. “And her brother. But who are the others? Lord Ravus and that other guy carried some _Infected_ up here. What the hell?”

Oh, right. Gladio had almost forgotten they’d brought the captured infected. “They’d broken into the house Lunafreya and the others were in. Ravus and Ardyn— the one with the hat— captured them to threaten us into not leaving him behind. We need to keep an eye on him, he gives both me and Iggy a bad feeling. Where’d he put them, anyway?”

“The Infected?” Nyx asked. “Locked them in the storage closet. It was the only room that has a lock on the outside, so,” he shrugged. “Figured if you brought them, there was a reason for it.”

Gladio nodded. “And as for her,” he nodded toward Aranea. “A commodore. Aranea Highwind. Don’t know much about her, except she was the one behind this outbreak. She used to be on the same side as the Niffs, but she helped Lunafreya escape. She says she’s on our side.”

“Do you believe her?” Nyx asked.

“More than I believe Ravus and that Izunia guy,” Gladio replied. 

Dinner went by in uncharacteristic silence. Even Prompto didn’t have much to say, and he kept glancing at the door down the hall. Every once in a while he tried to make small talk, but none of them were really in the mood.

Gladio finished first, mumbling a thank you to Ignis around his last bite. “Calling it a night,” he said. 

“I’ll be right behind you,” Ignis told him.

Cor volunteered for first watch. Nyx and Ignis opted for the subsequent ones. Gladio would’ve volunteered, but he’d kept watch for over half the night yesterday, and he could really use the sleep.

“You’ve frayed your jeans,” Ignis told Gladio when he came out of the bathroom. Ignis was sitting on the bed, holding Gladio’s pants and examining them. “On both knees.”

“Went down pretty hard today,” Gladio replied. “I think the Infected started working together. One of them tripped me, and the other tried to attack while I was distracted by the first. Would you believe Prince Charmless was the one that saved me?”

Ignis chuckled. “Yes, actually. Noct is quite skilled in combat. Not to mention he has a rather wonderful teacher.”

Gladio quirked an eyebrow. “Trying to flatter me?”

“No, simply stating facts,” Ignis replied. “I wish I had the materials to fix these,” he said, folding Gladio’s jeans and setting them aside. “You’ll just have to be extra careful.”

“Careful’s not really my style,” Gladio replied, with a smile. “I’m more of the swing first, ask later kind of guy.”

Ignis sighed heavily. “I…” he started, and then sighed again. “What if we never find a cure?” He asked. “What if we just have to keep running forever?”

Gladio crossed the room, the bed creaking under him as he sat beside Ignis. “Then we keep running. Not our style to give up.”

“If we don’t find a cure, we won’t be able to reclaim Insomnia,” Ignis told him.

Gladio shrugged. “Aranea hasn’t even started yet. No use in worrying about it now. We just have to survive.”

Ignis looked like he was about to say more, but Noctis entered the room then, Prompto right behind him.

Ignis was on his feet in an instant, the uncertainty all but gone from his voice when he addressed them. “Finally getting ready for bed, Noct?”

“You know me,” Noct replied. “I’m always ready for bed.” 

“Quite,” Ignis replied, regarding Noctis and Prompto fondly.

Noctis smiled back. “But nah, Prom and I were gonna play cards for a bit. Wanna join us?”

“Not tonight, I was planning to turn in rather soon. I should get at least some rest before my shift tonight. I suggest you don’t stay up too late, it’s been a long day.”

The conversation Ignis had been having with Gladio was done, then. Gladio leaned back against the headboard, grabbing his book from off the nightstand and flipping it open to the page he’d left off on as Ignis got ready for bed. 

“How ’bout you, Gladio? We can deal you some cards?” Prompto asked. 

Gladio shook his head. “Maybe next time. Probably shouldn’t keep Iggy up with the lights for too long though, unless you want to wake up with him for his shift tonight.”

Prompto’s eyes flicked toward the closed bathroom door and then back to Gladio a couple times. “Should… we play somewhere else?” He asked. “Maybe some other people want to play? We don’t wanna keep him up or anything if you want lights-out.”

He smiled. Shook his head. “Nah. But I’ll probably turn the lights out over on my side. Just try to keep the competition down over there. Nothin’ too crazy.”

Prompto nodded. “Right. Sure thing.” He dealt cards to himself and Noctis and they started playing. They were trying to keep the volume at a respectful level, at least, but Gladio had a feeling Ignis wouldn’t be able to sleep until they stopped playing. 

Ignis stepped out of the bathroom shortly thereafter, folding up his glasses and getting into bed, propping the pillow up to lean against it. 

Neither he nor Gladio spoke, but Gladio felt Ignis’ fingers entwine with his own under the covers and he squeezed gently. Gladio returned the gesture, smiling quietly to himself. Okay, so maybe they weren’t that discreet after all. 

On the other bed, Noctis and Prompto played cards until Noctis nearly fell asleep in the middle of a round. Prompto nudged Noctis. “Hey, buddy. Starting to get tired over there?”

“I’m not,” Noct mumbled. He yawned, shoving Prompto lightly when he started snickering. 

He should probably get to sleep soon, too. Gladio marked his page and stretched, his movements rousing Ignis, who Gladio realized must have actually fallen asleep. 

“Did I wake you?” Gladio asked. “Sorry about that.”

Ignis shook his head. “No,” he lied. “I was merely resting my eyes.” He must have really been tired then, if he’d managed to sleep with Prompto and Noctis playing cards on the other side of the room. 

Ignis cleared his throat then, still looking rather sheepish that Gladio had noticed. He flattened his pillow back on the bed. “Well, then. I suppose I should get some rest.”

“Lights out, guys,” Gladio called over his shoulder at Noctis and Prompto as Ignis settled down under the covers. The lights on the other side of the bed clicked off, but Gladio laid awake, running a gentle hand through Ignis’ hair until he was sure he’d fallen back asleep.

Gladio must’ve fallen asleep eventually as well, because the next thing he knew, he was jolting awake to the sounds of Ignis’ panicked voice from outside the room amidst the sounds of shrieking and a scuffle. 

He grabbed his shirt off the floor, pulling it on as he stepped barefoot into his shoes and threw open the bedroom door. 

Ignis was standing in the hall, a dagger he’d thrown whizzing past where Gladio was standing in the doorway. He followed the weapon with his eyes, horrified as the dagger caught Cindy’s shoulder as she snarled and lunged for Cor and Nyx, who were a bit further down the hall, their weapons already drawn. 

The moment the dagger pierced Cindy’s flesh, she jerked away from Cor and toward Ignis. Her eyes were wide, and she reached up to the dagger in shoulder as she let out a low hissing noise.

Gladio’s heart sunk. _Was Cindy…?_

Cor’s gaze hardened. He raised his Katana and drove it through Cindy’s head. 

_Infected._


	16. Chapter 16

“What the hell happened here?” Gladio demanded, glancing between Ignis, Nyx, Cor, and Cindy’s body— now lying crumpled on the ground, the blood spilling out from the wound in her head and seeping into the carpet. 

“Her door,” Ignis answered, voice hoarse. His eyes were wide as they met Gladio’s, brows knitting in confusion. “She must’ve opened it. But I didn’t hear her until she was already out of her room. She attacked Cor and Nyx when they opened their door.”

“We heard Ignis fighting,” Nyx replied. “I’d just gotten to bed after my shift. Cor was still awake, neither one of us could sleep. A good thing, too, it turns out.”

“Did she bite you?” Gladio asked them. He turned to Cindy, crouching down beside her, and propped her up to check her over. Something wasn’t sitting right, but from glancing her over, he couldn’t see any obvious wounds other than the one through her head from Cor’s Katana. 

Nyx shook his head, kneeling down beside Gladio. “Not me. She didn’t get Cor, either. He killed her before she could really attack us.”

Gladio nodded and gently laid Cindy back down. “She shouldn’t have died that fast, not from just a scratch,” he said, hoping he didn’t sound as uneasy as he felt. “Some of the bodies back in Insomnia didn’t get back up until a whole day after they died.”

“It varies,” Ignis replied. He knelt down beside Gladio to better examine Cindy’s body himself. “Reanimation can take seconds or days.”

“Yeah, but,” Gladio frowned. He shook his head. “The infection wouldn’t kill that quickly, right? That Niflheim guy— the Brigadier General that started this whole thing. He was bitten back in Niflheim, but the infection didn’t kill him until he arrived at our annual party. And he was looking pretty worse for wear when I saw him. Even if scratches do turn ya, it should at least take a while.”

“It didn’t take a while for Delilah,” Nyx told him. “She went down right away after that Niff bit her.”

“But none of us got a good _look_ at Delilah,” Gladio insisted. “Maybe her throat was torn out or… she died of shock, or blood loss or _something_ that killed her quickly. An infection from a bite should take days to spread and kill someone. A scratch even longer. So then how did she die in less than a single night?”

Ignis was quiet. Calculating. He studied Cindy, taking her body from Gladio and turning her over, shaking his head as he checked for wounds. “I… there is some bruising around her face, but perhaps she started to feel ill during the night and bumped into things trying to get to the door. I know that seems unlikely, but none of us would have harmed her, Gladio.”

“None of _us_ ,” Gladio replied. He glanced up at Nyx and Cor. “Where are the others? The new guys— Ardyn and Aranea and them.”

Cor set his jaw. “I’ll fetch them.”

Prompto stood, frowning down at the body. “We can’t leave her here,” he said, his lip trembling. “It’s not right. We have to do something.”

Gladio nodded. “It don’t make sense,” he muttered. “She was fine. It shouldn’t have happened this fast.”

“Perhaps there’s still more to uncover about the particularities of this virus,” Ignis supplied. “Or perhaps it’s progressed and now works faster. The Infected can learn, there’s no reason the virus can’t evolve as well.”

Still, there was something that wasn’t adding up. Gladio knew Ignis was trying to rationalize it with logic, but something still seemed off. There had to be more to it. “You say Cindy opened the door?”

“She had to have,” Ignis replied. “But I didn’t hear it. I didn’t hear anything until she was already out in the hall, but…” He looked about to say something, but Cor chose that moment to return with the newcomers.

Lunafreya gasped when she spotted Cindy’s body, her hands flying to cover her mouth. “Gods above,” she breathed. “What happened?”

“We were hoping one of you might be able to tell us,” Gladio replied, standing to look at the four of them. He doubted Lunafreya had anything to do with it, but he didn’t know Aranea or Ardyn at all, and Ravus was entirely unpredictable. He did know, however, that Ravus’ hatred was mainly directed at Noctis and his family— Cindy didn’t really have anything to do with that feud.

“And you intend to question us?” Ardyn asked, a look that Gladio couldn’t quite place flashing across his features. “What would we have to gain by killing her?”

Gladio narrowed his eyes. “No one said anything about killing her.”

Aranea rolled her eyes and shoved past them. “If I may,” she said. “Can I take a look at her? Technically, the whole virus-killing-you thing wasn’t supposed to be how our vaccine worked. As far as I’m aware, the virus kills slowly, but the reanimation can be very fast. So… infected or not, she shouldn’t have…”

Ignis and Gladio made room for Aranea, and she bent down to get a closer look at Cindy’s body. “And you’re super sure that she was Infected, and not just like… not able to sleep or something?”

“Quite,” Ignis replied. 

Gladio studied Ravus and Ardyn, trying to catch any distinguishable emotion in their eyes, perhaps some sign of anxiety or discomfort, but Ravus just stared back at him, bemused. 

Ardyn held Gladio’s gaze, his mouth curving into a smirk. “Glare at us all you want, but you won’t find anything. How do you expect us to have gotten into her room? I believe I heard dear Prompto telling her to lock the door, so it’s quite obvious she simply turned on her own. Such is the way of this Infection,” Ardyn shrugged, turning around to head back to his room. 

“Hold it,” Gladio snapped. “We’re not done with you.”

“We have no reason to suspect them, Gladio,” Ignis said. His hand rested on Gladio’s shoulder. “Let him go. It is possible that Cindy succumbed to the infection overnight. Perhaps it spreads more quickly now.” 

Ardyn tipped his hat, turning and retiring back to his room. 

Noctis and Prompto chose that moment to burst into the hall. They were both still in their pajamas, Prompto’s glasses askew on his face, Noctis’ hair mussed from sleep. Noctis’ eyes were wide as he scanned the surroundings and then to Cindy’s body on the floor. 

“No!” He shouted, warping over to her. “Cindy! Wh-what happened?” 

Ignis’ shoulders slumped. “We’re trying to figure that out, Noct. But while I was on watch, Cindy came out into the hall. She was Infected. I defended myself, and Cor and Nyx aided me. We did what we had to do.”

“But I…” Noctis stammered. “She wasn’t even sick!”

“That hasn’t escaped us,” Ignis replied. “But there are no other explanations.”

“Damn right there aren’t.” Gladio clenched a fist. “This ain’t over. Something’s not adding up here.”

“We need rest,” Cor said, after a moment. “Tensions are high, but we shouldn’t act on impulse." He knelt down and gently pulled Cindy's gun from its holster. He held it out to Prompto. "I hate to do this, but we really can't afford to waste weapons."

Prompto blinked back tears. “This wasn't supposed to happen,” he breathed, his voice shaky. He took the offered gun, letting out a shaky sob.  “She shouldn’t be dead.” 

Cor's expression didn't change, but Gladio caught the slump of his shoulders. "I can take care of the body, if anyone would like to say a few words first.”

“I would,” Ignis replied. “I’m so sorry, Cindy. I feel like we’ve failed both you and your grandfather. I should have checked on you, perhaps I’d have noticed something sooner. Forgive me.” He bowed. Sighed. 

Luna walked over to Noct, offering him her hand as she helped him up and pulled him into a hug. “If only there was more I could do,” she said. “I cannot help but feel as though I am partially to blame with this. If I had not come to Lestallum, none of you would have come to find me, and she would have not been injured.”

Noctis shook his head. “I was the one who insisted we find you. We need you, Luna.” He turned to the others. “All of you. I won’t let anyone else get hurt because of me.” He stepped forward, taking Cindy’s limp hand in his. “Thank you for everything you’ve done to help us, Cindy,” he muttered. “We couldn’t have navigated Lestallum as well as we have without you.”

“Or gotten the radio,” Prompto chimed in. He wiped his face, tears staining his cheeks. “It’s not fair.”

As Cor hoisted Cindy's body up over his shoulder, Gladio couldn’t help but feel relieved that Iris hadn’t left her room and seen this—although he’d have to explain it to her tomorrow, which he dreaded— and that they’d had enough foresight to have Cindy and Iris in separate rooms for the night.

But Ignis was right. They had nothing to go off of. It didn’t matter that something seemed off; they didn’t have enough of the facts to prove anything. 

After several more tears and confused murmurs, people started returning to their respective rooms. Cor offered to finish up Ignis’ watch after he removed Cindy’s body, and Ignis accepted, following Gladio and the others back to their room. 

Ignis sat on the edge of his and Gladio’s shared bed, his back facing him as he folded his glasses up and pinched the bridge of his nose, lost in thought. Gladio leaned against the headboard, his eyes fixed on Ignis’ back.

On the other bed, Noctis sat cross-legged while Prompto fidgeted with his wristband and wiped his palms on his pants. Neither of them spoke, silent save for the occasional sniffle from Prompto.

“Gladio,” Ignis said after a long while, so quietly that Gladio nearly missed it. 

“Yeah?”

Ignis rubbed his forehead, eyebrows knitted together. “We know the Infected can learn, and that the ones in the house Umbra led us to had apparently opened the door to get in. However, those Infected have been around for quite some time. If Cindy reanimated only tonight, certainly unlocking the door and turning the doorknob wouldn’t have been her first instinct.”

“I heard her lock it,” Prompto chimed in. He sniffed again, rubbing his red, blotchy face. 

“What I’m saying is, a newly turned Infected wouldn’t have been able to open that door,” Ignis murmured. “At least not right away. It had to have already been opened.”

“The only ones that would’a done it are Ravus or Ardyn,” Gladio replied. “But Prompto said the door was locked. How the hell would either of ’em have gotten in?”

“That’s what troubles me,” Ignis replied. “And it would be unwise to bring something up until we have more evidence, or proof, or… something. We’d be foolish to act too soon without anything to back up our suspicions. For now, I suggest we be on our guard at all times.”

“And if it turns out that someone did do something,” Noctis replied, grimly. “They’re out of here. No debates.”

“I don’t know about you guys,” Prompto said, “But there’s no way I’m getting back to sleep tonight.” He was bouncing his leg, drumming his fingers on the bed. After a moment, he pulled off his glasses and placed them on his nightstand.

They must’ve been an old pair, Gladio figured; Prompto never really wore glasses anymore after Cor taught him to use contacts, but Ignis always insisted he carry a pair with him, regardless. Stylish or not, it would come in handy if there was ever a moment that didn’t allow time enough to put in contacts. Like tonight.

Noctis frowned. “Same here. Can’t sleep after that.”

“I think we’re all too on edge for it,” Ignis said.

Gladio crossed his arms across his chest. He should have protected Cindy better. Should have been more cautious, more aggressive when he was holding off the Infected. None of them really spoke much for the rest of the night, but there wasn’t a whole lot for any of them to say. 

They missed Cindy, they all did. Ignis was probably beating himself up over it even more so than Gladio— after all, he had been the one who had been keeping watch. Gladio scooted closer to Ignis, but his boyfriend seemed a million miles away. 

“We gotta keep pushing through,” he said. “All these people that have died, we have to keep going the best we can. It’s the only way any of this will be worth it.”

Prompto nodded. “For Cindy. And everyone else.”

***

Tensions were high the next morning. The air was somber, and rather than cooking breakfast, Ignis passed around a couple energy bars as they all sat in the radio room.

Lunafreya was looking at the radio, trying to see if she could get in contact with anyone, but nothing was coming through, much to everyone’s disappointment. 

Gladio popped a bite of his breakfast bar into his mouth. He’d filled Iris in on last night’s events earlier, and although he spared her the details, he had mentioned that Cindy turned last night and that it must have meant that scratches were just as dangerous as bites.

“So from what I know about Lestallum,” Aranea was saying, leaning back on the palms of her hands, “The city draws its energy from meteorshards?”

“Yes,” Ignis replied, eager to have something to talk about other than the near-tangible feeling of unease in the room. “It allowed the power to remain on significantly longer than most power sources. Regrettably, it went out a few days before you arrived.”

Aranea pursed her lips. “Do you think there are any meteorshards that might still work to power stuff? See, our vaccine-turned-virus got out before we’d perfected it. We had no clue the bite would _kill_ Tummelt or our scientist. So based on what I know about it, it’s designed to revive the parts of you that shut down when you die. But instead, you get infected, the infection kills you, and then it revives part of you, but none of the parts that actually make you… well, _you_ , y’know? So I wonder… since the meteorshards provide an extra boost of power, perhaps using pieces of the shard in a cure might reverse the shutdown that the virus inevitably causes.”

“Will it help those already turned?” Lunafreya asked. 

“Your guess is as good as mine,” Aranea replied. “But I want to test it on the undead Izunia brought with us first though, so I suppose we’ll find out soon enough. I just need some time and materials. Meteorshards would be ideal.”

“We got the time,” Nyx replied. “But not the materials, I’m afraid. Cor and…” the corners of his lips turned down. “… Cindy locked a shit-ton of Infected inside the power plant to thin out the group of them gathering near the hotel. That’s where all the meteorshards were. It’s a no-go.”

“What about the disc itself?” Ignis asked. “A few of us could go out there and collect a few meteorshards for your research.”

Aranea nodded. “That’d be really helpful, actually. Think you could do it?”

“I’ll go,” Gladio replied, crinkling up the empty wrapper of his energy bar and getting to his feet. “I’ll be there and back before you know it.”

“Not without us,” Ignis said. “Noctis, Prompto? I would feel better if you were to join us.” He paused, briefly, and then added, “Especially in light of recent events.”

“No need to ask.” Noctis was already up, stepping quickly over to his backpack. “We’re already in.”

“Can I come?” Iris asked, her big brown eyes looking eagerly at Gladio. “Please, Gladdy?”

Gladio shook his head. “Not this time, kid. But you’ll be in good hands.” He glanced up at Cor and Nyx, who nodded. 

Nyx gave him a thumbs-up. “Sure thing. We might not be as fun as your brother, Iris, but we’ll keep ya busy. We could use someone with your kind of energy and flexibility. And princess?” He glanced over at Lunafreya. “How much do you know about combat?”

“I know how to defend myself,” Lunafreya replied. “I do not fear these creatures; I wish to help.”

“Do you have a weapon?” Nyx asked. When Lunafreya nodded, Nyx grinned. “Great. We can train you to fight these Infected. There are specific ways to kill them that I think you ought to know.”

“So it’s settled then?” Gladio asked. “The four of us will head out to the Disc of Cauthess, round up a couple of meteorshards. You guys will hold down the fort here?”

“Yes.” Cor hadn’t touched his energy bar. His mouth was set in a thin line, forehead crinkled. He appeared to be thinking about something. “While Highwind works on studying the Infected we have captured here, we’ll keep everything in order. As long as you’re confident you can bring back what we need.”

Prompto smiled. “No worries, Cor! We gotcha! You can count on us.”

Cor looked up at Prompto, finally allowing him a gentle smile. “All right, then. Don’t delay.”

“We could even go right now!” Prompto suggested. “The sooner we leave, the sooner we can get back.”

Cor nodded. “That might be best. Remember, we don’t know much about what it’s like out there. It’s been over two weeks now. Don’t stay in one place for more than a night. And be wary of creatures, too. The Infected might be less frequent, but the creatures will probably be everywhere, especially now that there aren’t any hunters out to control their numbers.”

“Of course,” Ignis replied. “We will be extra vigilant.” 

Gladio packed their backpacks while Ignis grabbed a few cans of food. They probably would go hunting if they found the time— or especially if there were a whole lot of creatures like Cor was predicting, but it didn’t hurt to have a backup plan for meals just in case.

“And you have enough ingredients to feed yourselves? You won’t be able to access the cooking supplies or anything that’s in the armiger while we’re away, so I want to make sure you all have enough while we’re gone,” Ignis was saying, and an amused Nyx nodded, Iris chipping in about how she’d help feed everyone while Ignis was away. 

Prompto snapped a few pictures of anyone that would take them, and fist-bumped Cor. “We’ll be back before you know it,” he promised. 

“Be safe,” Cor called back. 

Gladio turned and waved, the others waving back as he grabbed the rope. He didn’t feel that great about leaving so soon after Luna’s group had joined them, but he knew Cor and Nyx would keep everyone safe, and he needed some fresh air. He needed to get out of the city. He cast one last wary glance at Ardyn and Ravus before lowering the rope and climbing down, the other three right behind him. 


	17. Chapter 17

One of the Infected woman lunged at Gladio the moment he was low enough to the ground for them to reach, shrieking and making a grab for him as he climbed down.

Using the wall as momentum, Gladio shoved his boots against the side of the hotel building and let go of the rope, throwing himself backwards and just out of range of the woman’s teeth. She snapped down on empty air, and Gladio summoned his greatsword and thrust it through her abdomen.

Her guts spilled out onto the ground, and she let out a wail as he hit the pavement. As she screamed, more Infected approached, seemingly from every angle. Like they had been waiting. They probably had been.

“There’s more, let’s move it!” He shouted up to Prompto, who had already begun climbing down. 

He kicked another Infected woman back as Noctis warped down from the balcony and drove his sword through her eye, wincing as she let out a screech and stumbled back, clawing at where the blade pierced her flesh before collapsing. Noctis pulled the sword out with a sickening squelch.

A shuffling noise alerted Gladio to an Infected soldier behind him, and he threw a sloppy swipe at it, trying to keep an eye both on the new soldier and the woman he’d sliced through the abdomen. “Iggy, Prompto! Get the hell down here!” He shouted.

The Infected must have _planned_ this ambush, he realized. Which meant they knew where they left the hotel for supply runs. He’d have to figure out how to get that information to the rest of the group once they were in the clear.

Gladio could hear gunshots now— a good sign. At least Prompto had reached the ground safely. He glanced at the rope to see how close Ignis was when he felt something connect with his shoulder—hard. It almost felt as though he’d been punched, but… an Infected wouldn’t do that. He gritted his teeth around a gasp, his greatsword slipping from his hands as he registered the aching pain in his shoulder.  

_Shit. Don’t be a bite_ , Gladio pleaded to himself as he ducked and snatched his greatsword back up, using the arm that wasn’t throbbing to turn and swing at whoever had attacked him.

It was an Infected power plant worker, but instead of the blade slicing through her body, the woman jumped backwards and pulled a utility knife out from her belt.

“Iggy!” Gladio shouted, as the woman started running at him again. 

She never got close enough to attack Gladio a second time. The dagger that Ignis threw embedded itself into her brain, stopping her in her tracks. She blinked, glanced at Ignis over Gladio’s shoulder, and fell forward, the dagger further lodging itself into her head as she went down. 

Ignis wasted no time in sliding over to the body, flipping her over and removing the dagger. “We need to move before even more show up,” he said, urgently. “Quickly, now.” He reached a hand out to help Gladio steady himself before turning to Noctis and Prompto.

Once Ignis turned, Gladio allowed himself to reach back to where he’d felt the pain in his shoulder, and with a sigh of relief, his fingers closed around the handle of a screwdriver.

He’d just been stabbed, then. That shouldn’t have relieved him as much as it did. The woman likely hadn’t gotten close enough to bite him and had started throwing tools at him. He breathed out a sound that was somewhere between a laugh and a sigh as he followed after the others. He could worry about first aid later. 

“Prompto, will you accompany Noctis and secure us a way out of the city? We could make use of your warping and gun. Don’t burn out though, Noct,” Ignis was saying as Gladio caught up with them. 

“On it!” Prompto grabbed Noctis’ hand and dragged him into an alley, the sound of gunshots echoing off the walls of the buildings as they vanished up ahead.

“Were you bitten?” Ignis asked. He hadn’t slowed down at all, but Gladio could make out the subtle waver in his voice. 

“No,” Gladio replied, as they hurried after the other two, pausing every few seconds to fend off any pursuing Infected that got too close.

Ignis exhaled. “Thank the gods.”

“Got me pretty good with a screwdriver though,” Gladio gritted his teeth. “Damn, it hurts. Don’t wanna take it out till we’re safe.” Thankfully, he could see that Prompto and Noctis had found a safe way up ahead: a shortcut that would keep them from having to go through the more dangerous parts of the city and take them directly out to the main road. 

Ignis nodded. “I’ll help you.”

Gladio nearly stumbled when he reached the end of the alley and Ignis reached out a hand to steady him, gently tugging him along. To the far right, he could see the two airships from where Luna, Ravus, and the others had landed, Infected milling about the gas station. 

They didn’t appear to have seen them yet, but the others were still pursuing them as they scrambled down the alley, their deafening shrieks echoing in Gladio’s ears. 

Prompto and Noctis were already on chocobos  when Gladio and Ignis reached them— the same chocobos they’d ridden on last time, it looked like— and he climbed onto one of the available birds, Ignis following suit.

Gladio winced as the movement drew attention back to the screwdriver sticking out of his shoulder, and he tried to put the pain out of his mind as he spotted the Infected stepping out into the road.

“Let’s get outta here!” Noct shouted, and patted his chocobo’s neck, urging her onward. 

The other chocobos thankfully started running the moment they saw Noct’s take off, following with excited squawks. The Infected jerked their heads up from where they were lurking around the fallen airships, and began to take chase.

The Infected weren’t fast enough. They began to fall behind as the chocobos left them in the dust, but that didn’t mean they had necessarily stopped giving chase. But it was okay; they were no longer an immediate threat at least.

Gladio breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the last of the pursuing Infected stop and turn back toward the city. He leaned forward and wiped the sweat from his brow, holding on tightly to his bird with his other hand.

As the adrenaline started to wear off, the pain in his shoulder increased. It was almost worse now that he knew it was there. He was used to some degree of pain, but the excitement from their escape had given way to a deep-rooted exhaustion. He reached back to where the screwdriver protruded and gave it a gentle tug. It was lodged tight, it seemed. Tore a hole through his shirt, too. 

It took him longer than it should have to register that Ignis was keeping pace with him, green eyes flicking up and down as he appeared to be checking Gladio over. “How are you?” Ignis asked.

“Been better.” Gladio gestured to his shoulder. “Guess this screwdriver is ours now.”

“We’ll clean and disinfect the wound when we stop.” Ignis told him. He raised his voice to call to Noctis and Prompto, who slowed their chocobos down to match Gladio and Ignis’ pace. “From my studies of the maps of Eos, there should be a haven around here. Narcie, I believe it’s called. We can camp there tonight, please keep a lookout for it.”

Noctis glanced back at Gladio. Nodded. “Gladio— how’re you holding up?”

Gladio grunted. “Nothing I can’t handle. It was my own fault, should’ve been paying more attention. Those Infected are getting more dangerous the longer they’re left alive. I know Luna wants to try and change ‘em back or whatever, but I don’t know how smart that is. If it doesn’t work, the Infected will only get better at killing us.”

“We just need to give Aranea a chance,” Noctis said. “She’s the only one who might be able to reverse it, and if we kill them off before she finds a cure, we’ll have killed people we could’ve saved.”

“Sometimes that’s just how it’s gotta be if it means keeping us alive,” Gladio replied. “But that reminds me; think you can call Umbra once we hit camp? There’s a message he should pass on to everyone back at the hotel.”

“I’ll try,” Noctis said. “Don’t know if he’ll come though.”

It took longer than Gladio would’ve liked for them to spot the haven Ignis had mentioned, but the steady rise of the smoke and the blue of the haven was a comforting sight. Off to the left, Gladio could see a herd of garula grazing in the grass and— thankfully— no Infected in sight. “A good place to be if we want to hunt for dinner tonight,” Gladio pointed out. 

“That sounds _so_ good.” Prompto scratched his chocobo under her neck. “Maybe I can get some pictures out here, too!”

“Don’t wander too far off,” Ignis warned. “It may be safer out here at the moment, but that doesn’t mean it’ll stay that way. Creatures are dangerous as well, and there may still be some Infected around here.”

“Sure thing, Iggy,” Noctis replied. He climbed off his chocobo once they reached the haven and removed her harness. “Wish we had some treats to give these guys for saving our asses all the time,” he said, scratching her under the chin. 

Gladio dismounted his chocobo and bent down to start unloading some of their camping equipment. 

“Not so fast,” Ignis chided him. “I’d like to take a look at your shoulder first. I’m sure Noct and Prompto can handle the unpacking, hm?”

Gladio heard the other two groan at being volunteered for what should have been Gladio’s job as he sat back on his heels with a heavy sigh. “Disinfecting it will probably hurt, huh?”

Ignis nodded. “But it’ll be better in the long run. We can’t have it get infected. Screwdrivers could cause a whole host of infections that I’d rather we not have to deal with. I imagine you agree?”

“Yeah.”

Ignis instructed Gladio to sit down and positioned himself behind him. He felt one of Ignis’ hands press gently on his other shoulder, and he braced himself. 

“Just do it,” Gladio said. “Get it over with.”

Ignis closed his hand around the handle. “It appears to have just glanced off your shoulder-blade here,” he said. “Lodged a bit under the skin.”

Gladio was about to answer him, but clenched his fists instead as Ignis swiftly wrenched the screwdriver from his shoulder. 

“Apologies,” Ignis said in response, “but there was no gentle way to do that.”

“It’s fine,”’ Gladio replied. He reached out a hand for Ignis to pass him the screwdriver, and he wiped the blood off in the grass, shoving it into his pocket. “You got stuff to disinfect it?”

“I have a few things,” Ignis told him. “Hopefully they will suffice.”

From behind them, he could hear Prompto and Noctis clattering about as they pulled out cooking supplies and camping equipment from the armiger. They seemed to be handling it well enough, despite their grumbling and frequent complaints. 

“Don’t worry about it, I can pitch up the tent when Iggy’s done with me,” Gladio told Noctis, catching the prince holding two of the poles and staring at them in bewilderment.

Noctis turned to Gladio and then looked back at the poles. “Ugh, yeah. Thanks.” He dropped them. “Can Prom and I go hunt something in the meantime?”

“Those garula are still in eyeshot.” Ignis helped Gladio shrug out of his shirt. “Can I trust you to take one of them down?”

Prompto nodded. “Yeah. We’re on it.” He paused, shuffling his feet before lifting up his camera. “Quick pic before we go?”

Gladio hoped he managed to smile as the camera flashed. 

Prompto beamed and slapped Noctis on the back with an excited, “Let’s go catch us some dinner!” And then the two were off.

Gladio hissed as he felt a sharp stinging shoot through his entire back. He started to pull away,  but a strong hand steadied his shoulder and held him in place. 

“Not so fast,” Ignis said. “I told you the disinfectant would be unpleasant.”

Gladio tried to focus on something— anything— else as Ignis cleaned and treated the wound. It wasn’t that bad, at least as far as stab wounds went, but it still hurt like hell. Especially embedded under his skin like that. Now with his attention fixed on the wound, it was harder to ignore how much it throbbed.

At least it hadn’t been a bite though. He leaned back a bit as Ignis’ rough hands skimmed across his back, bandaging up the wound. It didn’t bleed much, thankfully, and as long as it didn’t get infected, it would probably just bruise and then heal up.

Gladio wasted no time in getting back on his feet, pitching the tent and making small talk with Ignis until Noctis and Prompto returned nearly an hour later, dragging a garula they had managed to fell over to the haven. 

“Well done,” Ignis praised. “We’ll eat well tonight.”

Prompto fist-pumped the air. “That’s what I like to hear!” 

Gladio turned to Noctis. “D’ya think you could call Umbra now to send to everyone back at the hotel?” He asked. “They should know about that ambush today. They need to be on guard if the Infected start waiting around there to attack us whenever we come down.”

Noctis chewed his lip. “I can’t guarantee he’ll listen, but I can try,” he grabbed a knife out from the armiger and handed it to Gladio. “Could you carve this meat up in the meantime?” He asked. “If your shoulder’s okay?”

Gladio snorted. “Yeah, I’m good.” It still hurt a bit, but he wasn’t about to let Noct know that. He’d push through— that’s what he was expected to do. He set about carving out all the best parts of the garula while Noctis tried to summon Umbra. Gladio wasn’t sure how long it was supposed to take, but after several minutes and no sign of the dog, Noctis started to look a little frustrated.  

Ignis had begun setting up a makeshift kitchen station with Prompto lingering nearby when Gladio heard an unmistakable bark as Umbra trotted toward them, tail wagging.

“Wow,” Gladio heard Prompto say. “I’ll never not be surprised by that dog just showing up out of nowhere.”

Noctis reached out a hand for Umbra to give paw and untied the notebook, flipping it open. “Thanks. So what is it you want me to write, Gladio?”

“Tell him to let the others know the Infected have memorized our entry and exit point,” he replied, setting aside a few choice pieces of meat. “And that we’re safe, but that we got ambushed. That some of ‘em learned how to use tools as weapons now. That they might try to use the element of surprise for another sneak attack if they get the chance.”

Noctis nodded, scribbling down the message. “That’ll do it,” he said. He put the notebook back in the carrier around Umbra’s neck and leaned back. “I never thought I’d be so relieved to be spending a few nights in a tent,” he admitted. “Wish it was safe enough to just live here all the time.”

“As do I,” Ignis replied. “But where the people are, the Infected will no doubt try to follow. Staying out here would only delay the inevitable. Not to mention the increased number of creatures that have begun roaming lately. No place is safe, but at least we can lock the doors back in Lestallum. We can’t do that out here.”

Umbra accepted a few more pats and head scratches from Noctis and one from Gladio before racing off towards Lestallum. 

Prompto snapped a couple pictures of the pup as his form got smaller and smaller. “I really wish Pryna would come whenever you called like Umbra does,” he murmured. “I wonder what she does when she isn’t in this world.”

“Probably does god things. I don’t know.” Noctis shrugged. “She doesn’t tend to stick around like Umbra does. Maybe she just likes the astral plane better.”

“Can’t say I blame her,” Gladio chimed in. “Probably nicer than living in a world infested with Infected. Even if she can’t be killed by ‘em.”

Noctis nodded. 

“Sooo,” Prompto peered over Gladio’s shoulder. “How’s that steak coming? You done cutting it up yet?”

Gladio snorted. “If you want to help me, go ahead and pick up a knife.”

Prompto rubbed his neck, laughing nervously. “On second thought. You’re doing great with that, big guy! Take your time!” 

“Actually, Prompto?” Ignis summoned him over with a wave. “If you would— I believe you might be able to find some garlic around here. If you wouldn’t mind going with Noct to fetch some, I can make prime garula rib tonight.”

“Prime garula rib?” Gladio’s head shot up and he licked his lips. “That sounds incredible. Bit early for dinner though, isn’t it?”

Ignis smiled. “I thought you might like it. It might be early now, but by the time it’s ready, it should be around dinnertime.”

Prompto looped Noctis’ arm in his own. “No problem, Igster! Noct and I’ll handle it, right, buddy?”

Noctis nodded. “Sure.”

The two of them headed off in search of garlic, and once Ignis had finished with his kitchen setup, he glanced over his shoulder at Gladio. “I’ve been… thinking,” he started. 

Gladio raised an eyebrow. “Yeah?” He prompted. “What about?”

“I know Prompto agreed not to tell Noct about our relationship. But Noct and I practically grew up together. And with all the stress we’ve been under lately, we’ve… let our privacy get away from us at times. Do you think he’s figured it out?”

“Don’t know.” Gladio passed some meat over to Ignis. “Think we should come clean?”

“It would feel strange not having to hide it after all this time.” Ignis laid the meat out and busied himself by sprinkling salt and pepper on either side of the garula meat.

“A bad strange or a good strange?” Gladio asked. 

Ignis avoided giving a direct answer, opting instead for, “If we ever return to Insomnia, we’d have to bring it back under the radar.”

“Yeah, but no one out here will care.” If Gladio’s hands weren’t covered in garula blood, he’d he’d have gotten up and put a hand on Ignis’ shoulder or something in the hopes of comforting him somehow. “Professionalism ain’t nothing out here. Surviving and living as best as you can— that’s all that matters. Noct won’t care. Besides, Prompto knows. And Nyx knows. And he is… _was_ … in a relationship of his own. So it’s not like it’s forbidden for us or anything.”

Ignis made a face. “I know,” he said, after a moment. “I just…”

“Hey,” Gladio said, and Ignis’ eyes met his. “We don’t have to. We can just keep doing what we’re doing. If Noctis asks, we’ll tell ’im. If not, it’s fine too.”

With a sigh, Ignis pulled a skillet from the armiger, but Gladio could feel the tension in the air as the advisor skittered around their camp, apparently lost in thought but not saying anything more to Gladio until he arranged the meat on the skillet, glancing out over the plains. “We should tell him. I just… I need to… Do you suppose they’ll be back soon?”

He’d barely spoken the words when Prompto and Noctis returned, each with an armful of fresh garlic. Noctis handed his over to Ignis. “We spotted some more creatures out there,” he said. “Hundlegs and killer bees and stuff. They didn’t seem to see us so we didn’t fight them or anything, but just so you know they’re there.” He shuddered and stuck his tongue out. “They’re gross, so I’d rather just keep away.”

“I read that they can cause all sorts of ill effects,” Ignis said. “Poison in particular. It’s wise that you didn’t try to attack them alone.”

“That’s what we thought too,” Prompto agreed. “We steered clear. Might’ve overdone it just a bit with the garlic collecting, but better safe than sorry, right?”

“Right.” Ignis broke off a clove of garlic. “Thank you Prompto, Noct.” 

Prompto nodded. “It smells great already, Iggy. Even without the garlic added.”

Ignis thanked him, making a comment about Prompto just trying to flatter him, but smiling nonetheless.

As promised, Ignis finished right around sunset, and he passed around the meat so everyone could help themselves to a piece or two. Ignis’ cooking was always excellent, but in Gladio’s opinion, there was something special about freshly caught meat that made it taste even better than usual. 

The others appeared to agree. Prompto even moaned after taking his first bite, giving Ignis a thumbs-up. “This is _amazing_ , Iggy.”

“Isn’t it?” Gladio said. He put a hand on Ignis’ shoulder, but Ignis jumped and started to pull away before he apparently realized that Prompto and Noctis had noticed the awkward exchange.

Noctis furrowed his brow. “Are… you two okay?” He asked. “Iggy’s doing the thing. Don’t tell me you got into a fight in like the twenty minutes we were gone.”

“What thing?” Ignis asked, at the same time Gladio said, “Nah, it’s nothing.”

With a shrug, Noctis answered, “You know, that thing. The thing he does with his nose.” He crinkled up his nose in an exaggerated demonstration. “Like he smelled something weird but he’s actually just trying to hide something.”

Gladio laughed. “You know, I never—” he started.

“Gladiolus and I are in an intimate relationship!” Ignis blurted out. He nearly dropped his fork, eyes wide, as if he was shocked by his own admission.

Noctis raised an eyebrow. “Wait, wha-?” He stammered, clearly taken aback by the (seemingly out of nowhere) admission. 

Gladio smirked. He hadn’t thought Ignis would say anything _today_ , but he wasn’t about to complain.

Noctis glanced between the two of them, from Ignis— who was frozen— to Gladio. “Oh,” he said. “Oh. Yeah. I guess… that makes sense, I guess.” He quirked a small smile. “But you know, you didn’t have to phrase it like _that_ , Specs.”

“Finally!” Prompto breathed. “You guys have no idea how much it was killing me to keep that quiet.”

That seemed to shake Ignis out of his frozen state and he flushed red, picking his fork back up from where it had clattered loudly on his plate. “Y—you’re not surprised?” He asked Noctis. “And I suppose, more importantly, you’re… all right with it?”

“Sure,” Noctis replied around a mouthful. “Why wouldn’t I be? And besides, I knew you were dating someone anyway, Iggy,” he said. “Just thought it might’ve been someone back in Insomnia so I didn’t want to ask. I don’t know, I guess I just always thought Gladio liked women.”

Gladio took a large bite of his meal. “Been with women, been with men. But then I realized I had feelings for Iggy, and I was lucky enough to have those feelings reciprocated. We just get each other. And not to sound too sappy or nothin’, but I’d pick him a million times over. I can’t imagine my future with anyone else.” He gave Ignis’ shoulder a gentle squeeze, and to Gladio’s relief, he didn’t pull away this time, instead leaning into the touch.

“You read far too many romance novels,” Ignis teased. 

 Noctis nodded thoughtfully to himself. “And Prompto’s known this whole time?”

“Since Hammerhead. He may have… walked in on us in a rather… compromising position,” Ignis admitted. 

Now it was Prompto’s turn to blush. “Er, yeah,” he said. “Still sorry about that.” He rubbed his neck and laughed nervously. 

“Can’t believe I’m the last one to know.” Noctis rolled his eyes. Took another bite of rib. “We’re practically brothers, Specs, and I’m the _last to know_? It’s not a big deal that you’re dating, though. I mean, it hasn’t affected your duties so far so I’m not really worried about it. I am happy for you guys. But come on. Last? Seriously?”

Some of the red had faded from Ignis’ face. He took a bite of his dinner, chewing thoughtfully as he let Noctis’ words sink in. “I’ll admit I was unsure of how the people of Insomnia would take it. I didn’t want to run the risk of losing my job, or facing skepticism on whether I would still put you first.” He met Noctis’ eyes. “Thank you, Noct.”

“No problem.” Noctis and Prompto shared a look. “So anyway… you guys wanna play cards tonight? I got a deck in the armiger.”

Ignis allowed himself a small smile, his eyes raising to meet Gladio’s. “I would like that very much,” he agreed.

Gladio smiled back. For the first time since they’d left Insomnia, it truly felt like things were okay. 


	18. Chapter 18

“Where are we headed to next?” Noctis asked over breakfast. He still wasn’t fully awake yet, but at least he hadn’t been completely incorrigible this morning and had gotten up with only minimal difficulties, something that was of great relief to both Ignis and Gladio.

Ignis passed the map over to him. “We have a couple options for our next haven. Lingagh and Sothmocke. Though I’m afraid both are dangerously close to Aracheole Stronghold.”

“What’s that?” Prompto asked.

“A Niflheim military base,” Gladio told him. “Which we’d be smart to avoid on a good day, but we all heard Aranea. Either the base’ll be empty or it’ll be full of Infected. Whatever it is, we should steer clear of it.”

“Fair enough.” Noctis handed the map back to Ignis, who folded it to fit into his pocket.

“Sothmocke is closest to the Disc, but also closest to the stronghold. It just depends if we want to go a little farther and then circle back, or if we want to take the most direct route and just sneak our way past the stronghold. If we’ll be lucky, it will be empty and the doors will be closed.”

“Getting to Cauthess won’t be easy as it is, and we shouldn’t risk making this trip longer than it needs to be,” Gladio mused. “Circling back would just take extra time. If we get to Sothmocke and the doors to the stronghold are closed, I say we camp there and just be extra vigilant.”

Noctis nodded. “If you think that would be best.”

“I suppose we shouldn’t linger here for much longer, then,” Ignis said, and glanced over at Gladio. “Is your shoulder well enough to manage taking down the tent while I handle the cooking supplies?”

Gladio rotated his shoulder. It still ached a bit, but it was bearable. “Nah, I can do it,” he reassured Ignis. He finished up his breakfast and wasted no time in taking down the tent while Ignis disassembled the kitchen gear. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Noctis and Prompto tending to the chocobos, and as much as he and Iggy could use some extra hands cleaning up, someone had to make sure the chocobos were fed and healthy too, so he didn’t berate them.

The clouds started to roll in as Gladio and Ignis packed up their things, and the longer they took, the darker the clouds became. He could feel the heaviness in the air. “Damn,” he muttered to Ignis. “Looks like it might rain.”

“It smells like it as well,” Ignis agreed with a slight frown. 

Prompto groaned. “We can’t catch a break, can we?”

“We’d best hurry then and get as far as we can before the rain starts,” Ignis squinted up at the clouds. “If we’re lucky, we can cover quite a bit of ground before the storm starts. I’ve heard that creatures can be more aggressive in the rain, so we’ll want to be on high alert.”

“Away from the Infected and right toward the creatures,” Prompto sighed. “Is it too late to mention that I am not into wildlife?”

“Way too late,” Noctis bumped his shoulder playfully. “We’ll just have to make the best of it.” He and Prompto saddled up the chocobos, Prompto feeding his a bite of toast he must have saved from breakfast. 

Prompto’s chocobo— Gladio had already forgotten what he’d named her— Rona, was it?— chirped happily and Prompto climbed up onto her back. 

“Specs, Gladio, hurry it up!” Noctis called over to Ignis and Gladio.

Ignis raised an eyebrow. “Sothmocke, then?”

Noctis nodded in agreement and they set out along the plains, Gladio keeping an eye out for creatures. They hadn’t made it very far when he felt the first few droplets of rain. With a grimace, he called out to the others up ahead: “Rain’s started! It’ll probably be a pretty unpleasant next few hours. Don’t know when it’ll clear up.”

He saw Ignis hold out a hand and feel for the rain as a loud clap of thunder echoed around them, Noctis grumbling and covering his ears while Prompto used his vest to cover his head.

The rain picked up quickly. They’d be soaked to the bone at this rate. Ignis had taken off his glasses, probably couldn’t see much with or without them, anyway. Gladio sped up to catch up with him and shrugged off his shirt, handing it over to Ignis.

“You wanna use this to cover your head?” He asked. “Might help if you want to put your glasses back on.”

Ignis hesitated for a moment before he relented and accepted Gladio’s shirt, using it to shield his head as he cleaned his glasses and slipped them back on. “I appreciate it.”

“No problem.” He was getting soaked too, but he’d be warmer without wet clothes weighing him down.  

They continued a few hundred feet more before Ignis came to a sudden stop beside a cluster of trees.

Gladio slowed beside him. “What is it?” He asked, softly. He cast a quick glance around them, but it was hard to see through the rain. “Do you see something?”

“I might hear…” Ignis started. “Noct, Prompto. A moment!” he called out.

Noctis turned to look at them. 

Gladio started to say something more, but in a blur, something whipped out from between the trees and knocked Noctis off his chocobo with a heavy thud. 

Another clap of thunder.

“Noct!” Ignis threw himself off his chocobo and summoned his polearm as he ran over to Noctis, kneeling beside him. 

Gladio tried to get a visual through the rain at whatever was attacking, but the dark clouds had cast heavy shadows around them, and the heavy rain was making it difficult to see through the trees. Everything was a flurry of squawking and screeching as Ignis and Noctis’ chocobos took off in the opposite direction.

The creature lashed out again and this time Gladio could see that it was a tongue. He caught a glimpse of its orange eyes as it ducked and rolled, crushing the undergrowth surrounding it. 

Gladio slipped off the back of his chocobo and shoved her in the opposite direction of the battle. She didn’t need to be told twice; with a squawk she raced off after the other two chocobos and away from the heart of the battle. 

It was then that Gladio realized he could spot several other shapes scurrying toward them. 

“Looks like we’ve got— _ahh_!” Prompto was cut off and Gladio heard several successive gunshots firing off from somewhere to his left as one of the newly approaching creatures reared up and knocked the gunslinger backwards.

_Hundlegs. Just great,_ Gladio thought. “How’re we holding up?” He called out.

The lack of response from anyone would have been concerning if he hadn’t been able to make out the huffs and sounds of warp-striking, but he still wiped the droplets of water from his face and tried to get a location on any of his three companions.

Noctis was the easiest to spot, with the frequent bursts of blue as he warped around the area. Gladio dodged another lash of the gigantoad’s tongue and brought his greatsword down on it before racing over to the prince’s side and helping him finish off one of the hundlegs. 

“Thanks,” Noctis breathed, fist-bumping Gladio and racing off to assist Prompto.

“Gigantoads are weak to polearms!” Ignis shouted, and Gladio spotted his polearm flying through the air. “Gladio, the hundlegs are vulnerable to greatswords.”

“Got it!” Gladio reeled around to take on the other hundlegs. The storm had come into full swing and the rain pelted them from all angles. If _he_ was struggling to see, he could only imagine how Ignis was faring, having abandoned Gladio’s jacket when he’d jumped off his chocobo.

They had a strategy, then. Gladio would focus on the hundlegs while Ignis, Noctis, and Prompto went after the gigantoad. Gladio managed to kill two more hundlegs with relative ease and then glanced up as he heard the heavy rumbling of the gigantoad. 

It was rolling again. Ignis shoved Noctis out of the way but didn’t quite manage to avoid the blow himself as the gigantoad bowled into him. He landed heavily onto his back, gasping as the wind was knocked out of him.

Gladio cursed as he swung at the last of the hundlegs who was trying to sneak up on him, slicing it in half and then running to Ignis’ side. “You good?”

Ignis groaned. Nodded. “Where’s Noct?” 

Gladio cast a glance over his shoulder. “Probably fine. C’mon.” He helped Ignis back up, but it was obvious he was a bit dizzied from the gigantoad’s attack.

Without giving them any time to reassess the situation, the toad rolled toward them again, and Ignis avoided it, but its tusk caught Gladio’s shoulder where the Infected had stabbed him the other day. 

He hissed, but before he could land another hit on the creature, Noctis leapt into the air and brought his polearm down, killing it instantly as he lodged the weapon through its head, the tongue lolling out as the life faded from its eyes.

Noctis panted, perched atop the gigantoad’s body. “Iggy, you okay?”

“No need to worry about me,” Ignis replied, brushing himself off. “Between the rain and the multitude of creatures I’m afraid I just had a brief misstep. I’m not injured.”

Gladio didn’t quite believe that; he’d seen how hard Ignis had hit the ground, but he didn’t seem sluggish or disoriented and he wasn’t bleeding anywhere, so he’d just have to take Ignis’ word for it. He rubbed his face with his arm. “Let’s get out of here before anything else shows up. The rain doesn’t look like it’ll let up anytime soon.”

Ignis picked Gladio’s shirt back up off the ground to shield his face from the rain again, and Gladio bit back a smile as he spotted Noctis and Prompto following suit. 

“You two okay?” He asked. 

“Right as rain!” Prompto smiled, and Noctis stifled a snort. 

Gladio nodded. “Good. Guess our chocobos split on us. We’ll have to hoof it for now.”

Prompto sighed. “Yeah, mine took off as soon as I climbed down to fight. I just hope they find us at the next haven. It’s gonna _suck_ if we have to walk the whole rest of the trip there and back.”

“Let’s just be grateful we made it out of that battle alive.” Ignis replied, curtly. The others turned away, and Gladio caught him shivering from the rain when he thought no one was watching.

“We can get a nice fire going once the rain stops,” he told Ignis. “And I don’t mind sharing my body heat until then.”

“I appreciate it,” Ignis replied, wiping his glasses, but made no move to huddle close to Gladio as they walked. Hopefully, he’d take him up on the invite once they made it to the haven.

Up ahead, Noctis came to an abrupt halt. “I think I found the stronghold,” he said, pointing to a huge walled area, a watchtower to the left overlooking the area. “The doors look closed.”

“That’s good news, but I’d like to make absolutely sure,” Ignis said. “We should be able to get a look inside the stronghold at the top of that watchtower.” 

Gladio nodded. “Yeah. Let’s make it quick, though.” 

They snuck around the side of the stronghold and over to the watchtower, Gladio following behind Noctis while Ignis took up the rear behind Prompto. They climbed the stairs quickly, and Noctis peered over the walls into the stronghold. 

“Do you see that?” He asked. 

“Yeah.” The stronghold thankfully appeared to be closed and locked on every side, but the soldiers that were in it were very clearly all Infected. Most of them stood motionless, every so often one of them would twitch and fling their gun over their shoulder. Others milled about the area, tapping on the walls of the stronghold.

“What are they doing in there?” Prompto whispered. 

“Beats me,” Noctis looked uneasy.

“I believe they may be searching for a way out.” Ignis frowned. “We’d best not be nearby when they find one.”

“We saw what we came up here for. They’re trapped for now.” Gladio reached out and grabbed Prompto and Noctis’ shoulders, directing them away. “Let’s get to Sothmocke.”

***

“I don’t know how safe I feel with that Niflheim base of Infected right next door,” Prompto said, taking a bite of his skewer as they sat around the campfire they’d built at the haven. The rain had since stopped, and they’d shed any layers of clothing they didn’t need and laid them out to dry while they all huddled around the fire to warm up.

“I’m not comfortable with it either,” Ignis admitted. “But it’s only for tonight. I suggest we sleep in shifts just in case.” He was leaning against Gladio in a rare display of public affection, and Gladio hoped moments like these would be more frequent now that Noctis knew about their relationship. 

Noctis nodded. “Fair enough.” His eyes flicked from Ignis to Gladio. “Still kinda weird to see you two all cuddly like that,” he commented with a small laugh.

Ignis cleared his throat and started to pull away from Gladio when Noctis shook his head. “Wait no, you don’t need to— it’s fine. It just takes some getting used to.”

“I hope you know that, despite Gladio and I being together, we will always put you first,” Ignis told him. “He and I have had plenty of discussions about that.”

“I’m not worried about _that_.”

“Then what…?” Ignis started. 

Noctis shrugged. “You’re just. You know. _Happy_. It makes me happy to see you happy. There are times— a lot of times, really— that I wish I wasn’t a prince. That you didn’t have to have discussions about putting me first even though you two are dating. And I wish our world wasn’t literally dying around us.”

“Yeah,” Prompto murmured. “I… can’t believe Cindy’s really gone. She was fine just a few days ago, and then… it happened so fast, and she didn’t deserve it. It feels like we failed.”

Ignis sighed heavily. “Maybe the infection just spread faster with her.”

“Come on. It was just a scratch. It wouldn’t have killed her that fast.” 

Ignis glanced down at his meal. “I know. But we don’t have any evidence to the contrary.”

He squeezed Ignis’ arm reassuringly. “Not yet. We’ll figure it out.”

“So Noct,” Prompto started, leaning forward. “What’s the first thing you’ll do once this is all over? When we’re back home?”

“Home?” Noctis asked, mulling it over. He took a bite of his dinner and chewed thoughtfully. “I think… I’d really like to hit up some of the arcades. Maybe the four of us can go. I miss it a lot.”

Prompto grinned. “Yeah, me too! What I wouldn’t give for an afternoon at the arcade. I’m totally ready for that again. What about you, big guy?” 

“I can’t wait to rebuild the training grounds,” Gladio answered. “I have to prove to Cor that I can finally best him in battle.” He pressed a gentle kiss to Ignis’ neck. “And what about you, babe? What are you looking forward to?”

Noctis pretended to gag. 

“Me?” Ignis asked, as if he was surprised Gladio had even asked. “I suppose… I look forward to Noct taking the throne and becoming everything I know he can be.”

“Nope,” Gladio shook his head. “I didn’t ask what you want for Noct. What do you want for _you_?”

Ignis fell silent, and they all finished the last few bites of their dinner before he responded. “There was a market that had just recently opened up. It had ingredients, but it also had other unique trinkets from all over Eos. I never made it over there before Insomnia was overrun. I would have rather liked to see what they have.”

“Who knows, maybe it’ll reopen when we get back to reclaim Insomnia,” Noctis told him, with a smile. “Or something else will come along that’s even better.”

The fire crackled, and Prompto let out a yawn, stretching his arms up over his head. “So who’s going to take the first watch? I can take one of the later shifts but I’m pretty wiped out right now.”

“I’ll take the first,” Gladio offered. “Noct can take the second. Prompto third. Then Ignis, since he’ll probably wake up at the crack of dawn, anyway.”

Ignis nodded. “That will do.” 

Gladio tossed his skewer stick into the fire and Ignis gently slipped out from his arms so he could clean up the rest of the mess from cooking.

“I recommend paying particular attention to Aracheole Stronghold, but alert us as well if any creatures get too close to the haven,” Ignis instructed. “Hopefully, the night will pass without incident. I would like to reach the Disc by tomorrow.”

Gladio nodded. “It’s a plan.” 

The four of them bustled around the campfire, Prompto leaving a few bits of chocobo feed near the campfire in case the birds happened to wander back to them during the night. Noctis slipped into the tent after wishing them all a good night and presumably, crashed right away. 

Prompto lingered outside the tent, and Gladio looked up to see the blonde shifting awkwardly on his feet. 

“What?”

Prompto looked up, eyes wide. “Oh! N-nothing!” He licked his lips, eyes darting around frantically as though looking for an out. Finally, his shoulders slumped. “Just. Seeing you and Iggy all cuddly at dinner tonight made me wish that, y’know, I had someone like that.” His eyes wandered to the flap of the tent. “Gets kinda lonely when everyone’s dying around you.”

“You’re not alone, Prompto,” Ignis said. He must have been listening in on the conversation. “You have all of us. I trust you feel comfortable coming to us with anything that may be troubling you."

“It’s not that,” Prompto said. “Not really. Like, I know I can tell you guys things. But…”

“You love someone that can’t love you back,” Gladio finished. “I know. Hurts like hell.”

Prompto nodded. Looked down at the ground.

“Things will work themselves out though,” Ignis assured him. “I won’t name names, but I did have unrequited affections for someone myself before Gladio was in the picture.”

Prompto’s head shot up. “Wait, you did? Really?” 

Ignis nodded. “I’m sure he suspected, but I never told him directly, even to this day. Although sometimes, it’s difficult to know how someone may feel about you unless you speak to them about it.” 

Prompto fiddled with his wristband. “Um. Well. Noct and I… might have kissed once, but that was when the royal wedding was still on the table, so he cut things off pretty quick. The wedding’s off now though, and there’s still… he hasn’t said anything about it, so…”

“I’m sure Noct is still working things out,” Ignis replied. “I’ve been around him long enough to pick up on his more subtle cues. I know he cares for you. Just give him a bit of time and perhaps he’ll sort out his feelings.”

“Just wish he’d do it faster sometimes,” Prompto let out a weak laugh. “We might not have forever, you know? And I could do with a bit of…” his voice caught in his throat. He forced out another weak laugh. “I don’t know…”

Gladio reached out, pulling Prompto into a tight hug. The blond froze for a brief second, but then seemed to melt at the touch, and within seconds he could feel Prompto trembling and sniffling. 

“S-sorry,” Prompto’s voice was muffled and strained, and Gladio held him tighter. It was then that Ignis joined him as well, wrapping his own arms around Prompto’s side that wasn’t enveloped by Gladio’s arms. 

That only seemed to make Prompto cry harder. He pulled away several minutes later, wiping his tears with his arm. “Sorry about that. I didn’t mean to get all emotional, or anything.” He laughed again. “Oops. Guess I should cheer up.”

Gladio patted his shoulder. “Just remember to not let your feelings cloud your duty. You’re a member of the Crownsguard first and foremost.”

“Almost,” Prompto smiled sadly. “Never quite made it there.”

“You’ve more than proven yourself,” Ignis assured him. “I’d say you’ve had more training over the last few weeks than some of us have had over the last several years. You’re one of us, Prompto.”

“Thanks guys.” Prompto wiped away a few more stray tears. “Never thought I’d find myself crying into Gladio’s chest.”

“There’s a first for everything,” Gladio rumbled.

“Get some rest now,” Ignis said gently. “And don’t forget what I told you. You and Noct will work things out. I have the utmost faith in you both.”

Prompto collected himself and gave the two of them finger-guns. “Glad someone does.” He opened the flap to the tent, pausing to look back. “Really, though. Thanks.”

“Anytime,” Gladio rumbled. 

“Though my face probably looks like a Leiden tomato now.”

“A stunning similarity.” Ignis replied, warmly.

Prompto smiled back and slipped into the tent. 

Gladio turned to Ignis. “Can’t believe you told him about your pining-for-Nyx days,” he smirked. He stepped forward and embraced Ignis, pulling him into a kiss. 

Ignis rolled his eyes. “I thought he could use a little camaraderie, someone that understands how he feels. And I never named names, it’s not as if he has enough information to piece together who it was.” He threaded their fingers together. “I should turn in soon too. I trust you’ll take care of things?”

“I’ll miss you,” Gladio lifted their interlocked fingers, pressing a kiss to the back of Ignis’ hand. “Feels good not to have to hide this anymore.”

Ignis hummed. “Goodnight, Gladio. I have to admit I’m rather looking forward to seeing the disc in person tomorrow. Perhaps Prompto can take a few pictures of the four of us there. I’ve heard it’s even more breathtaking up close.”

Gladio nodded. “I hope it’s everything you hope it’ll be.”

Ignis joined the others in the tent, and Gladio slumped back on the foldable chair, eyes fixed on the Stronghold in the distance. Around him, he could hear the rustling of creatures, but thankfully none of them dared to approach the haven.

The fire crackled. It was going to be a long night.


	19. Chapter 19

“Oh, wow, that thing’s huge!” Prompto stared in awe at the horned beast that seemed to tower over them just to the right of the road they were traveling on. He lifted his camera, snapping a few pictures. “Ignis, do you know what it is?”

“I’m afraid not,” Ignis replied. “But those horns don’t look inviting. We’d best steer clear of it.”

Gladio nodded. As long as _whatever it was_ stayed in the grass, they had no reason to approach it. He was in awe too, though he wouldn’t admit it. He knew larger creatures existed outside the city walls, but he never imagined seeing one this close.

The creature bellowed, its tail swishing as it turned and lumbered onward, and Noctis exhaled. “Yeah, not really in the mood to fight something that big. We’ve got enough to deal with as it is.” 

Prompto begged him to stand close enough to be in a picture, and Noctis obliged for a few shots. “Really wish the chocobos had come back last night,” he grumbled. “I feel like we’ve been walking all day.”

Gladio rolled his eyes. “It’s only been about a mile.”

“Yeah, a mile my feet have been killing me.”

Ignis waved Noctis away from the bull-like creature. “We can see the gates of Cauthess from here. I assure you, you won’t keel over from a few more steps.”

Noctis groaned, and Prompto slapped him on the back. “Look buddy, I can see the gates! Race ya?”

Gladio matched Ignis’ pace as they passed the horned creature and continued onward to the gates. The whole area appeared to be sectioned off with the door closed, and he sighed. “Guess it won’t be easy for us to get over there. Got any ideas to get us through?”

Ignis peered up at the massive door in front of them. “Hmm. Noct?” he called, and the prince turned to look at him. “The easiest way to tackle this would be for you to warp over and open the doors for us from the other side. Would you mind?”

Noctis craned his neck up to size up the gates. “Ah. I guess not.” With a sigh, he warped up and over the wall. They heard him shuffling around on the other side, and then the doors opened.

“Nice going,” Gladio praised. Through the gates, they could see a winding path that no doubt led to the actual crater itself. 

“We shouldn’t venture too close,” Ignis said. “The temperature can be unforgiving.”

It didn’t take them long to start feeling the heat. Duscae was already warmer than many of the other areas around Eos, and it was clearly because of its close proximity to the Disc of Cauthess. They were all trying not to complain, but the heat was getting to them. Even Ignis, who had seemed so excited to see the Disc before, looked sweaty and miserable. 

Gladio shrugged off his jacket and ran a hand through his hair. “Wonder how far this path’ll take us,” he murmured. “Watch your step, we don’t know how sturdy the ground is. It looks pretty crumbly.”

“I was just about to caution the same thing,” Ignis replied, glancing around. “Let’s keep a lookout for the meteorshards.”

The road curved again, and they had to cross through a tight crevice to get to the other side, and finally at the end of the path was a large clearing, encircled by rocks and the bright iridescent light of the meteorshards.

“Whoa,” Prompto breathed, “They’re huge!”

“Positively stunning,” Ignis agreed. He took a step closer, sizing up one of the shards. “I suppose we should just break off a few and then return to Lestallum. If anything may be of use to us in finding a cure for this virus, I believe it would be this.”

Noctis reached out and pressed his palm against one of the clusters of shards. “How do we even do that?” He asked. “It looks pretty sturdy.”

“Easy.” Gladio summoned his greatsword and brought it heavily down against a group of the meteorshards. With a resounding crack, the cluster split and he grabbed a few of the fallen pieces. “Brute force does the job just fine.”

Noctis shrugged and summoned his sword. “Fair enough.” He cracked off a couple more shards from the clusters. “Do you think it’s okay to store them in the armiger?”

“Only one way to find out,” Gladio replied.

Noctis gathered up the meteorshards and summoned the armiger. He took a moment, his brow knitting together in concentration as he held out the meteorshards, but they didn’t vanish. He frowned, his shoulders drooping. “I don’t know why it’s not working. I guess we have to lug them back.”

“That’s super weird. I wonder why it doesn’t accept them.” Prompto mused. 

“Beats me.” Noctis summoned a bag and began shoving the shards in when he paused and looked up at Gladio and Ignis, face pale. “Uhh,” he started. His voice was shaky.

Gladio and Ignis looked up just as the ground crumbled under Noctis.

Gladio lunged forward as Noctis fell, but he just missed his hand as both the prince and the meteorshards he was holding dropped. From below, Gladio could hear the crack of something hitting the walls of the crater. 

“Noct!” Prompto shrieked. 

“I’m okay!” Noctis’ voice echoed from somewhere below them. “I dropped the meteorshards. I don’t know how long I can hold on!”

Ignis started to race to the edge, but Gladio snagged his arm. “We can’t just throw ourselves off the cliff. I have a plan.” He glanced between Ignis and the cliff. “I got this. I just need you to watch my back and tell me if the ground starts to give.” 

Ignis nodded, and Gladio hurried over to where Noct had fallen and gripped one of the meteorshards still stuck in the ground, using that to hold him as he lowered himself over the edge.

To his relief, Noctis wasn’t too far down. Gladio could see the ledge he was holding onto, several feet down and he stretched out his other arm to Noctis. “Forget about the meteorshards, there’s four more piles of ‘em up here. I need you to grab my hand; you might have to jump but I can hold ya.”

Noctis grimaced and tried to reach out to Gladio, his hand slipping a bit and catching on some more rocks as he groaned in pain. “Yeah, okay, I’m gonna jump for it,” he told Gladio, bending his knees and pushing off the side of the cliff as he launched himself sideways and reached for Gladio’s hand. 

Gladio’s fist closed around Noctis’ and he grunted, holding tightly as Noctis grabbed him with his other hand as well. Around a few more groans, Gladio hoisted Noctis up, clutching him by the waist and heaving him far away from the edge of the cliff.

Ignis was at Noctis’ side in an instant. “Are you hurt?” He asked. 

Noctis shook his head, his still-wide eyes betraying how frightened he had actually been. “Not really. Mostly just took me by surprise. But my hand is pretty messed up. And my shoulder hurts.” 

“But that was too close a call. Look where you’re going next time,” Gladio warned. 

Noctis nodded.“Y-yeah, fine,” he replied. “Guess we should probably head back. It’s more dangerous down here than I thought.”

Gladio nodded and broke off a couple more meteorshards to toss into his backpack. “Let’s get outta here.”

They were considerably more careful on the way back. The shards weren’t heavy, but they still weighed on Gladio as he followed behind the other three through the weaving canyon once more. There was a lot riding on this, and there was still so much work to be done. 

“I wish we could still use our phones,” Prompto muttered after a while. “Like. We don’t know what’s going on back at the hotel. We don’t know if they’ve gotten through to anyone on the radio. We don’t know if…” he trailed off, but it was clear Gladio wasn’t the only one concerned about conditions back in Lestallum.

He wasn’t proud of leaving everyone back there in the middle of a dangerous city, but he trusted them. They could handle things. Hell, Cor and Nyx had taught him most of what he knew. Everyone back there was in good hands. But still.

“Gladio, the ground is less stable here,” Ignis warned, and Gladio was drawn out of his thoughts to focus on the unsteady area around him. Prompto and Noctis had already successfully crossed the strip of land, and he sought out the sturdiest places to step across. 

Up ahead, much to Gladio’s relief, looked like where they had entered. The gates still were wide open, and he could already feel the cooler air from outside. 

They crossed through the doors together. Noctis leaned his head back and took a deep breath. “The breeze feels so nice here.”

“Sure does!” Prompto flashed him a smile, his expression quickly morphing into fear as he glanced something from behind them. “Noct! Watch out!” He launched himself at Noctis, barreling into him and knocking him out of the way.

Gladio and Ignis jumped to the other side as something came stampeding across the stretch of road where Noctis had just been standing. It screeched to a halt, turning to face the group again. 

It looked like a dualhorn. Except it wasn’t a normal dualhorn— this one had red horns and tusks. And seemed considerably more threatening than the dualhorns Gladio knew of.

Ignis voiced that thought beside him, confirming his fears: “It’s a bloodhorn.”

Prompto scrambled to his feet and helped a disheveled Noctis back up. “And it’s coming back!” He shouted, summoning his gun. “Think we can take it?”

“We don’t have to,” Ignis replied, “Perhaps we can just restrain it long enough to get away.”

The bloodhorn lowered its head and charged them again. 

Noctis warped out of the way, catching Prompto’s hand and pulling him out of the way of the impeding attack as the bloodhorn raced toward them again, lowering its horn and thrusting it up on the spot where Noctis and Prompto had just been. 

Prompto let out a wavering cry as he and Noctis crashed to the ground, but regained his footing in just a few seconds, whipping out his gun and firing a shot at the bloodhorn.

“What are you doing?” Gladio shouted at him. “We don’t have to fight this thing!”

“Just trust me!” Prompto called back as the bloodhorn set him in its sights and charged a third time. 

Ignis seemed to catch on instantly. “Gladio, aim for its back legs. That’ll draw it closer to the gates.”

_Oh_. So that’s how they were going to play this, then. Gladio summoned his greatsword and sliced at the bloodhorn’s legs, corralling it through the open doors. Noctis warped over and he and Ignis shoved the gates closed. 

“Woo!” Prompto pumped his fist up in the air. “We make the best team like, ever!” 

Noctis gave him a lopsided smile. “You got that right,” he agreed. He turned to Gladio and Ignis. “How long do you think that’ll hold him before he breaks it down?”

“Not for as long as I’d like,” answered Ignis curtly, as he glanced out toward the horizon. “We’d best get going. If you don’t mind, I’d like to try to get back to Narcie Haven today. It’s only a few hours past Sothmocke and if we could avoid camping right beside the Stronghold again, it would allow me some peace of mind. Granted, we wouldn’t be that much farther, though we wouldn’t be right at their door.”

Gladio nodded his agreement. “Can do,” he said, but even as he agreed to it verbally, he was dreading going all the way to Narcie after what just went down at Cauthess and with the bloodhorn. The trip was quite a ways, and it seemed even longer now that he had to lug the meteorshards along with him.

Every so often, Prompto or Noctis would open their mouths to complain and Gladio would hush them with a stern glare and ask if they wanted to share some of the weight. Unsurprisingly, Noctis declined, but Prompto took a couple shards. It didn’t help much, but Gladio was the strongest of the four of them anyway, so it was mostly up to him. 

They reached Narcie Haven right as the temperature started to cool down and the sun began to set. Gladio wanted to drop the shards but risking breaking them wasn’t worth it, so he gently lowered them to the ground.

“So Specs,” Noctis said, setting up the camp chairs while Gladio took care of the tent and Ignis unpacked their kitchenware. “Any plans for dinner?”

Ignis sighed in response. “I have a few ideas. I was going to suggest Grilled Mighty Barramundi or another such seafood dish, but I didn’t see any areas to fish while we were headed here today, so that’s unfortunately not really an option for us.”

Noctis groaned. “Fishing would’ve been great right now.”

“Maybe we’ll find a place we can make a quick stop at on the way back tomorrow?” Prompto suggested.

“Could always just settle for cup noodles,” Gladio suggested, staking down the corners of the tent and waggling his eyebrows at Ignis.

Ignis cleared his throat. “Well, if any of you would pipe down long enough for me to finish, I was, in fact, going to suggest we have cup noodles tonight. We don’t really have many other options, and it can be rather good in moderation.”

Gladio had a sneaking suspicion that Ignis would appreciate not having to cook tonight either. He grinned from over where he was setting up the tent, and Ignis quirked a smile and rolled his eyes.

He was so ready for cup noodles.

Noctis nodded. “Fine by me. As long as we stop for a little if we see a fishing spot tomorrow.”

Ignis hesitated, but didn’t give any verbal permission (nor did he explicitly say no), so Noctis and Prompto each sat in one of the chairs around the unlit campfire and Noctis pulled a deck of cards from the armiger. 

Things simmered down after dinner, and after cleaning up a bit, the four of them settled down to play cards again. About halfway through the game, Ignis excused himself to finish cleaning— although what he was cleaning exactly was a mystery to Gladio. One of the many appeals of cup noodles was the lack of cleanup, but he just shrugged it off and continued playing.

As Gladio leaned back in his chair, he caught Ignis standing beside the grill, gesturing for him to come over. The chair wobbled under him as he shoved himself up and tossed his cards down on the ground. “Play without me for a few,” he told Prompto and Noctis, and strode over to where Ignis was standing with a cup of coffee in his hand as he eyed Gladio up and down. 

“I hope you enjoyed dinner,” Ignis spoke coyly. “I assume Noct preferred it to a salad. That was my second choice. It wasn’t worth forcing vegetables on him after his near-fall today.”

“Loved every bite,” Gladio replied, “Wouldn’t mind having cup noodles for every meal.”

“I’m sure you wouldn’t.” Ignis took a sip of his coffee. It wasn’t Ebony, Gladio noticed, but it still did the job. He set the mug down, glimpsing Prompto and Noctis from over Gladio’s shoulder. “The night is lovely tonight,” he said. “It’s much peaceful out here than back in Lestallum. I almost wish we never had to go back.”

“You said it yourself,” Gladio replied, catching Ignis’ now free hand in his own. “The Infected would show up, eventually. And we’ve got people back there. Iris. Nyx. Cor. They’re all countin’ on us.”

“I never would leave them,” Ignis sighed. “I know our duty is always first. I just wish the four of us could… guarantee we’d be safe. Somehow. I hope the shards are the key.”

“Me too.” Gladio turned to look back at the two boys sitting at the campfire. Somehow, they had seemed to have ditched the game entirely in the thirty seconds Gladio was gone, and Noctis now had Prompto in a headlock. He chuckled under his breath. “When do you think those two idiots will kiss already?”

“They already have,” Ignis replied. “But I know what you mean. Do you think we were ever like that?”

“Oh, definitely,” Gladio grinned. “You should’ve heard Nyx and Crowe. They kept ribbing me to get on it and confess already. Glad I finally got the balls to do it.”

“And for once in my life, I was none the wiser,” Ignis leaned forward, closing the distance between them. “I’m glad you did.”

Ignis’ lips were warm and soft, and as inviting as they always were against his own. He still tasted of coffee. A quick flash of light and they were pulling away quickly, Gladio searching out the source of the light.

Prompto waved from behind his camera. “Couldn’t resist,” he said, with a sheepish smile. When had he gotten away from Noctis?

Gladio snorted and shrugged apologetically at Ignis. “Can’t even get a moment alone with those two.”

“Maybe you should get a room,” Noctis cupped his hands and shouted to them, the crinkle at the corners of his mouth belying his tone.

“We’ve tried,” Gladio responded, “but you two losers somehow keep showing up and crashing the party. I thought you were playing cards.”

“Is there really a party without us?” Prompto teased, shoulders shaking. “And we were, but I couldn’t help get a picture of you guys being sappy off in the corner.” Just as quickly as he’d come, Prompto was gone again, flitting back over to Noctis. 

Ignis peered over Gladio’s shoulder. “I’ll be the first to admit that Cauthess was much nicer from a distance.” He said. “The view is quite lovely, though.”

“Mm-hmm.” Gladio agreed. He turned to look at the Disc. Away from all the heat of the sun beating down from them, far enough away to be safe from the dangerous terrain, he could see how Ignis was so enamored by the place, the blue light of the Disc was quite a sight to behold. 

Now if only they had been able to see one of the gods while they were there, but he supposed Pryna and Umbra were all they were going to get. 

“Hey Ignis, Gladio, come join us in this next round of cards?” Noctis called over to them.

Ignis nodded and picked his coffee mug back up. “We shouldn’t keep them waiting,” he told Gladio. “Would you like a cup of coffee while we play?”

“Nah,” Gladio replied as the two of the rejoined the group around the fire as Noctis dealt the cards. “How does it compare to Ebony?”

“It doesn’t,” Ignis proclaimed. “I don’t think anything can compare, but this will have to do. I mourn the loss of the hotel kitchen every day.”

“We’ll just have to find you some more,” Noctis’ eyes shone as he smiled over at Ignis. “I’m sure Ebony isn’t the highest in demand right now, far more things people are probably more concerned about. Maybe if we find an outpost tomorrow…?”

Ignis returned the warm smile. “That would be much appreciated, Noct.”

They played cards long into the night, none of them wanting to be the one to call it quits. The fishing and Ebony detours would be nice, but Gladio knew they would also have to return to Lestallum tomorrow. As relieved as he would be to see his sister again, they had carved out a little world for themselves out here, where all that mattered was surviving the hunts long enough to catch a good meal and keeping warm while sleeping under the stars. 

He would miss that. He knew they all would. But they had a job to do.


	20. Chapter 20

Something was nudging at his cheek. Gladio groaned and cracked open an eye, a large, blue creature filling his field of vision as he regained consciousness. The creature turned, its feathers tickling his cheek as it took a step back and cocked it head.

Gladio sat up groggily, rubbing his head, an inviting aroma wafting past his nose. “The chocobos?” He asked, spotting three more large feathery birds milling about. “They came back?”

“I found them just a few feet from us,” Ignis’ voice came from over near the stove. “A quick whistle and they came racing over. Must have returned to this campsite after the gigantoad scared them off.”

Gladio reached over to pat his chocobo on the neck, smiling as she cooed in appreciation. “I can see that.” 

He didn’t really remember ever officially calling it a night last night, but at some point during their late night game session, he had leaned onto his side— he must have fallen asleep. Now, as he looked around, he could see Prompto and Noctis curled into each other on his left, no doubt taking advantage of each other’s body heat. 

“We must have fallen asleep out here. And after all the work you went through to set up the tent,” Ignis mused, as if he could read Gladio’s thoughts. He strode over to him and handed him a steaming mug of coffee, which Gladio accepted gratefully. 

“Wait for it to cool a bit, it’s quite hot,” Ignis told him. “I’ve only just started breakfast, so I’m afraid you’ll still have to wait a bit longer.”

Gladio shrugged off the apology. “I’ll just go on a quick run,” he said. “What’s cooking? Smells delicious.”

“Croque Madame. I wish I could do more, but I have rather limited ingredients to work with. I did spot some water in one of the craters while I was out collecting, must’ve missed it on the way here last night. It’s not deep enough to fish though, we’ll have to keep looking for that.”

“And for your Ebony,” Gladio replied, taking a gulp of his coffee. “Don’t think we’ve forgotten.” 

Ignis seemed pleased, and Gladio finished his cup of coffee while Ignis got back to cooking. He left for his run before Prompto and Noctis even stirred, and by the time he returned to the haven, Prompto was up and doing stretches. 

“Morning,” he said to Gladio, and pointed excitedly to his chocobo. “Look who’s back!”

Gladio nodded. “Iggy found ‘em. Got a nice wake-up call from mine.”

“I’m just glad they’re here,” Prompto said, scratching the yellow chocobo under her chin. “It would’ve been miserable to have to walk all the way back to Lestallum.”

“Indeed,” Ignis agreed. “Breakfast is ready, come get some. I’ll wake Noct.”

Prompto jumped to his feet. “Good luck.”

Ignis quirked a smile. “Believe me, I’ve had plenty of practice over the years.”

“Whaddya say about looking for that outpost?” Gladio asked, meeting Ignis’ eyes. “Without the hunters around, they might’ve just closed shop and gone home. Maybe we can drop in, grab some stuff, and then come back to pack up the tent?”

“You’re suggesting we break in and steal the supplies?”

Gladio shrugged. “If other people haven’t beaten us to it. There are more important things to worry about these days.”

Ignis held his gaze. “All right, fine. But we stick together. We might not be the only ones looking for things.”

***

They set out in search of an outpost after breakfast, but to everyone’s disappointment, they weren’t able to track one down anywhere near the haven. 

“I believe the closest one to us now is Lestallum,” Ignis sighed. “Regrettably. And that one is far too dangerous to risk sneaking into.”

“I was really looking forward to stocking up on more supplies,” Prompto admitted. “But we can make do. We’ve still got some stuff back in the city with the others.”

 _But no Ebony_ , Gladio thought. But then again, they all had way more things to be worried about than what brand of coffee Ignis liked. They were damn lucky they still had coffee at all. He’d seen Ignis without; he wasn’t ready for that on top of everything else.

“Though I did see a fishing spot a little way off,” Ignis said. “We can spare a few hours. But no longer.”

Gladio knew there was an underlying sense of urgency, but out here away from all of the Infected was causing all of them to drop their guard a little, Ignis included. Which meant Gladio had to be staying vigilant enough for all of them.

He cleared his throat. “Catch us a good fish we can have for a meal this afternoon or somethin’. I’m gonna take a look at the map, see what’s around.”

Ignis excitedly started rattling off several recipes he could make with the fish around these parts while they made their way to the fishing spot. Gladio tugged the map out and unrolled it, quickly pinpointing their location as he studied the nearby landmarks.

As Ignis had predicted, the Lestallum gas station was the closest outpost to them, but that was a no-go. And all the other potential outposts seemed to be in the complete opposite direction from where they were headed. 

Noctis scanned through the armiger until he found the spare fishing rod he’d had in there since his last outing (Regis had taken him to a local fishing spot, Gladio remembered grimly). Clearly, Noct had never bothered to take it out. 

He watched as the prince carefully sat down on the dock, holding the rod gently in his hands before he summoned his toolbox and set about threading his line through the lure. 

“You keeping an eye out for Infected and creatures?” Gladio asked Ignis, who nodded. 

“Of course. We could run into more trouble at any time. How’s your shoulder healing?”

Gladio shrugged. “Hardly feel it anymore.”

“Good,” Ignis replied. “Looking for anything particular on that map?”

Gladio sighed. Folded the map. “Just outposts. You were right, nothing around here.”

Ignis quirked a smile. “I told you as much.”

Gladio cast a glance over to where Noctis was fishing. Prompto hovered nearby, cheering him on. Just to the right of Noctis, over on the other side of the water, he spotted a hut up ahead, on a small hill. It looked abandoned, run down. 

He handed the map back to Ignis. “Prompto and I are going to check somethin’ out real quick,” he said, just loud enough for Prompto to hear it. His words earned him a surprised look from Prompto and a suspicious one from Ignis.

“Where are you going?” Ignis asked. 

“Just checking out that shack over there. Won’t be gone long. If we’re longer than… ten minutes. Come check on us?”

“We shouldn’t waste time,” Ignis answered slowly, as Prompto approached the two of them. “We’ve already been sidetracked far longer than we should have been.”

Gladio clapped Prompto on the back. “Aw, come on Iggy. It’ll be worth it, believe me.”

Ignis looked back at Noctis, and then at Gladio and Prompto. “I’ll keep an eye on Noct,” he said. “But be careful. Don’t be long.”

“We won’t,” Prompto promised. The moment they were out of earshot, he turned to Gladio. “So. Gladio. What’s this all about?”

“That hut,” Gladio pointed at the shack. “It’s no outpost, but maybe it’s got some supplies. Looks pretty abandoned. And if we’re lucky, we might find some coffee for Ignis.”

“Wouldn’t be cold anymore,” Prompto said. “Power’s been out for weeks, dude.”

“Coffee is coffee,” Gladio replied. “And if it makes Iggy smile, it’s worth it. Thought you could be my backup. You in?”

Prompto’s eyes widened. “ _Me_? Backup for you?”

Gladio nodded. “What do you say?”

“You got it, buddy!” Prompto threw his backpack over his shoulder. “Lead the way.”

It wasn’t very far to get to the hut. Gladio was careful to still have the haven in constant eyeshot, and he knew that Ignis, no doubt, was likely keeping an eye on them, too— or at least, as much as he could from the fishing spot.

Gladio ushered Prompto over to him and then peeked in through the only window that didn’t have the blinds pulled down. When he was sure that the coast was clear, he stepped back to kick the door in. 

Prompto put a hand out to stop him. “Maybe we can knock first? Or try the handle?” He knocked, and then when they got no answer, wiggled the door handle. The door opened. 

“Hello?” Prompto called, peeking his head in. 

“Shut it,” Gladio hissed. He grabbed Prompto’s head and pulled him out of the way, opening the door the rest of the way as he stepped inside. The place was… unsettling. Inside, the house was mostly dark with all the other blinds pulled down. The counters were clean, and a table sat in the corner of the room with two chairs around it, a vase as a centerpiece. 

The flowers in the vase were long dead and withered, a small collection of dried petals surrounding the vase on the table. 

Prompto pinched his nose. “Something smells terrible,” he whispered. “The garbage?”

Gladio put a finger to his lips, and Prompto fell silent as Gladio took a tentative step inside. They crossed the room together, and Gladio stepped on the foot pedal of the trash can. A chorus of buzzing enveloped the room as flies flew up and out of the container. 

Gladio stumbled back, nearly crashing into Prompto as they scrambled about, swatting the flies away as they buzzed through the house. 

Prompto gagged. “Do we really want supplies from here, Gladio?” He asked softly. 

“Well not from the garbage,” Gladio huffed, swatting at another fly. “The cupboards. We can grab some non-perishables. Check the fridge.”

“I don’t know if I want to after that,” Prompto grimaced. 

“Fine.” Gladio opened up one of the cupboards, relieved to see their trip here hadn’t completely been in vain when he spotted a can of chocobeans. If he remembered correctly, Ebony only had to be refrigerated after being opened, and could stay at room temperature for quite some time in the meantime, so he poured through the other cabinets in search of _something_ he might be able to surprise Ignis with. 

He had just opened up the pantry when he heard a scraping noise from another room. 

Had Prompto gone…? turning around, Gladio locked eyes with an equally concerned-looking Prompto. 

“Did you hear that?” Prompto mouthed.

Gladio nodded. Wordlessly, he put a finger to his lips again and summoned his greatsword as Prompto readied his gun. They remained that way for a few moments, just listening, but there were no more noises. 

It would be best not to stick around. 

He glanced at Prompto again. “Grab whatever the hell you can. We need to get out of here.” 

Prompto slipped back over toward the cabinets, grabbing the chocobeans and then kneeling to check out the pantry. “Hey Gladio,” he said softly, reaching to the back of the pantry and pulling out a can. “Look what I found.”

“No way.” Gladio grinned when he saw the label of the can. It was Ignis’ lucky day after all. “Put it in the bag. He’ll be thr—”

He was cut off again by another shuffling noise from the back room.

Prompto and Gladio exchanged another look. It was _definitely_ coming from the back hall. Possibly in one of the back rooms, though Gladio wasn’t about to peek back there and check. Still clutching his greatsword, he gestured for Prompto to hurry it up. 

The blond stuffed a few more canned goods into his backpack and swung it over his shoulder just as a man burst out from the back hall.

Gladio turned. The man was tearing toward them, eyes wild, but there was something different. He didn’t look… Gladio raised his greatsword in defense.

Prompto let out a scream and fired two bullets into the man’s head in rapid succession. 

He fell, dead.

Gasping, Prompto dropped his arm. “I… I panicked,” he admitted, voice shaky. “He was coming at us. I wasn’t about to just let him attack you.”

Gladio gently rolled the man over with his boot, studying his face. He was wearing dog tags around his neck, and his clothes were ragged and torn a bit— but besides the bullet wounds, it didn’t look like he’d been injured. “Damn,” he muttered. “I don’t think he was Infected.”

Prompto’s hands were shaking. He knelt down beside the man. “Oh— oh shit. I’m sorry. I didn’t know, I just… I saw him flying at you and I was already on edge and it was just.”

The door to the hut flung open. 

Gladio looked up to see Ignis standing in the doorway, his weapons drawn. “I heard gunshots,” he clipped, glancing between the two of them. “Are you all right? What’s happened?”

“Nothing.” Gladio bent down and pulled the tags up and over the man’s head. “Just had unexpected company. We took care of it.”

Ignis followed his gaze down to the man lying dead on the floor. “Was he Infected?”

“Yeah,” Gladio lied. He saw Prompto’s eyes widen a fraction of an inch. “He was a hunter, based on his tags. But it’s fine, we handled it. Noct still fishing? You can go back to him and we’ll be out in a minute.”

Ignis looked suspicious, but lowered his daggers. “If you run into any more trouble…”

“We won’t,” Gladio promised. “He was the only one.”

Once Ignis was gone and out of earshot, Gladio could feel Prompto’s eyes on him. “What?” He asked. 

“Why…” Prompto started. “Why’d you tell Ignis he was Infected?”

Gladio sighed. “What’s it matter? Guy’s dead. Infected or not, it wouldn’t change anything. It’s best just to not complicate things. Besides, some guy running at us, you didn’t hesitate. Did good.”

“I just _killed_ someone,” Prompto replied. “A real someone. Someone who probably thought _we_ were Infected or something.”

Gladio fitted the dog tags around his neck. “It’s done.” He slapped Prompto on the shoulder. “He was a hunter, he should have known better than to come flying at us. It’s his job to be stealthy, but I guess this virus has messed with all of us. Did you get the Ebony?” 

Prompto swallowed. Nodded. 

“Good. Let’s go.”

They returned to the fishing spot, Ignis standing nearby with his arms crossed, watching the two of them as they approached. 

“Risking your lives to explore an old shack,” he muttered, disapprovingly. “I do hope it was worth it.”

“You tell me,” Gladio said, as Prompto reached into his backpack and pulled out the can of Ebony, handing it over to Ignis. 

Ignis’ stern looked faltered. Not enough for Prompto to notice, but Gladio caught the near-slip and offered Ignis a smile. 

“Might be a little warm; we found it in the pantry. But we only found one can though, so savor it.”

His eyes still narrowed, Ignis glanced suspiciously between Gladio and Prompto. “You’re quite sure neither of you were hurt?”

“Right as rain,” Prompto replied.

“Pretty sure you’re the only one who would consider ever hurting someone for Ebony, Ignis,” Noctis said over his shoulder as he cast a new line.

Ignis sighed, but Gladio knew the temptation of the Ebony would be too great, and after a few more minutes, Ignis cracked open the can, taking a sip. 

“It’s brilliant,” he breathed, “Thank you, Gladio. Prompto.”

“Anything for you, Igster!” Prompto let out a laugh that was just a little too loud and perched on the edge of the dock beside Noctis. “So… catch anything yet?”

“See for yourself.” Noctis pointed at the fish he’d already caught. “We’ll eat well today.”

“Certainly,” Ignis agreed, taking another drink of the Ebony. His tongue flicked out to catch a couple drops on his lips and Gladio’s eyes followed the motion. 

Hey, he was a little shaken from the encounter at the hut, too. He was going to drink up every one of those little sounds of enjoyment Ignis made.

He must not have been very subtle about it because Ignis quirked an eyebrow up at him.

Noctis groaned and cast out his line again. “Ugh, I can see you making eyes at each other over there. Just go do something about it already.You’ve been at it since that first night of camping. It’s so _obvious_. Prom and I can fish here for a little.”

Gladio tilted his head at Ignis. “What do you say?” He asked.

Ignis’ cheeks were tinged red at being called out by Noct, no less, but he still held Gladio’s gaze, moistening his lips with his tongue. “I suppose…” he started. “We can pack up the tent. That way we can leave as soon as Noct’s gotten his fill of fishing,” he said. 

“Yeah, yeah,” Noctis waved his hand. “Go on.”

They had barely gotten into the tent before Ignis pulled Gladio into a deep kiss. “That was reckless,” he said, between breaths. “And _stupid_. You both could have gotten yourselves killed. I’m furious.”

“You always look out for us,” Gladio replied. “Wanted to look out for you too.”

Ignis’ fingers were at the buttons of his shirt, and Gladio reached out to help speed up the process before shrugging off his own shirt, too.

“It’s not worth it,” Ignis was saying. 

Gladio brushed Ignis’ bottom lip with the pad of his thumb before he leaned in to capture his lips in a kiss. 

“Don’t do it again. Don’t risk your life for a gift for me.” Ignis pulled Gladio away, his arms around his neck as he forced Gladio to look at him. “Please,” he said. “I’d always rather have _you_. The Ebony is brilliant, but you’re irreplaceable. Promise me.”

Ignis was already breathing more heavily, his bright green eyes fixed widely on him.

“I promise,” Gladio told him.

Ignis’ fingers were in his hair. “When I heard the gunshots, I feared the worst.” He said, pressing a kiss to Gladio’s neck. “I know you’re both able to hold your own, but my not being there made it all that more frightening.”

“I’m sorry,” Gladio said. “But I’m here now. I’m not goin’ anywhere. Let’s just enjoy this, okay? It’s the first time we’re able to be alone.” He knelt down, gently lowering Ignis against one of the sleeping bags.

“Yes,” Ignis murmured.

Gladio leaned in, brushing Ignis’ neck with his lips and smiling against his skin as he heard his partner’s breath hitch. 

“Gladio,” The words came out sounding almost like a breathy moan, and Ignis wrapped his arms around Gladio as he sucked at the skin of Ignis’ neck. 

He’d heed Ignis’ warning. He’d be more careful in the future, but none of that mattered right now, only that they finally had the time and privacy to do this, and they were going to do it, damn it. 

Ignis palmed him through Gladio’s pants and a groan caught in his throat as he saw Ignis smirking at him. 

“I think you need to get out of these, love,” Ignis quipped. He tugged at the zipper of Gladio’s jeans.

“Hmm,” Gladio hummed. “That so? Think you can help with that?”

“Absolutely.”

They worked Gladio out of his pants, and then Gladio helped Ignis, who was shoving rather ungracefully at his own trousers— trailing kisses from Ignis’ neck down his chest and stomach as he did so. 

“Iggy. Still good?” He asked, sliding his hand down to cup Ignis’ cheek.

Ignis peered back at him, his pupils blown wide with lust, his hair rather messily framing his face. “Ah,” he panted. “ _Yes_.”

***

Gladio must have dozed off a bit. When he stirred, he could feel Ignis tracing the lines of the tattoos on his arm. He grunted. “Hey.”

Ignis smiled. “Hello,” he said, amusement apparent in his voice. “I hate to wake you, but we really should get to packing up the tent. We’ve a long day ahead of us.”

“How long was I out?” Gladio asked, running a hand over his face as he sat up.

“Not long,” Ignis replied. “Hardly ten minutes.” He sat up as well and stretched, regarding Gladio warmly. “I could stay here all afternoon, had we no other obligations.”

No matter how long they’d been together, it still made his stomach flutter when Ignis looked at him like that. “I could too, but…” he trailed off.

“But,” Ignis agreed. He stood, picking up his clothes and pulling them on. He tossed Gladio his pants. “I’ll assist you with the tent if you wouldn’t mind helping me put away the kitchen supplies.”

Noctis and Prompto didn’t return until they saw Gladio finish taking down the tent. Noctis proudly began showing off his best catches, and Gladio nodded along. At least they’d eat well, just the thought of lunch was making his stomach growl.

Ignis took one of the nicest-looking fish to cook with some wild onions, and they sat around the fire to enjoy their meal, Gladio trying to ignore the looks that Noctis and Prompto kept exchanging with each other.

“So any news from Umbra or anything?” Prompto finally asked, breaking the silence. 

Noctis looked up, shrugged. “No. Haven’t heard from anyone. I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.”

“No news is good news,” Gladio replied. “They would tell us if someone had gotten hurt, or if the hotel wasn’t safe anymore.’’

“Unless they all died.”

“Noct,” Ignis shook his head. “Nyx and Cor would never let that happen. They’re safe, I assure you.”

“Still don’t trust that Ardyn guy though,” Prompto took a bite of his fish. “There’s something about him that puts me on edge. You know?”

“None of us trust him,” Noctis replied. “That brigadier general from the hotel told us Ardyn was the one who sent all the soldiers to kill us in Lestallum. I don’t like that Ravus is there either, but I know that means he won’t let anything happen to Luna. He’s more protective of her than anyone else I know.”

Gladio hummed in agreement. He listened as the other three chatted amongst themselves for a bit longer, content just to finish his meal. 

Noctis tried to sneak some of his onions to the chocobos, but Ignis caught him, fixing him with a long-suffering look as Noctis slowly raised his arm out and his chocobo ate up the onion.

Ignis sighed and took a sip of Ebony. 

But whatever. Ignis wasn’t likely to say anything about it, and Gladio was in too good a mood to let Noct’s picky eating ruin things. He’d give him a pass this time.

Finishing up his lunch, Gladio stood and stretched his arms over his head. “Okay. We ready to go? Gotta get these shards back to Lestallum.”

The others nodded, and while Gladio put out the campfire, the others untied the chocobos from their post. 

They packed up the meteorshards and once everyone was ready, they climbed onto their chocobos. With a gentle nudge against the chocobo with his boot, they were off. 

The trip was significantly shorter than it was going there, thanks to having pushed themselves to get a little farther the night before, and before long, Gladio could make out the city of Lestallum just a little ways ahead of them.

They had only just about reached the gas station when Gladio heard a gunshot and his chocobo jumped backwards. He nearly lost his grip on her at the sudden movement and he grabbed frantically to keep himself from sliding off, inadvertently plucking out a couple of her feathers as the chocobo screeched and shook herself.

Gladio jumped off to avoid being thrown from her back as more gunshots echoed around him. _The Infected soldiers._ He scanned the area, trying to get eyes on where the bullets were coming from. _But clearly they aren’t good at aiming yet_ , Gladio thought, gritting his teeth. 

“Prompto, you’re up!” Noctis shouted, warping off his chocobo in a flash of blue. He appeared seconds later hanging from the rooftop of the gas station while Prompto shouted back an affirmative and fired off some shots in the direction of their assailants.

Gladio snagged the bag of meteorshards and swung it onto his back, summoning his greatsword. He couldn’t attack them from this far away, but Prompto was doing well in distracting them so he could race forward and cut down a few of the closest Infected. 

Thankfully, it looked like much of the horde that had chased them out of Lestallum a few days ago had dispersed, likely searching for the others back at the hotel— which was good news for them, but not so much for everyone else. And it would be hell trying to get back in there. 

Ignis was throwing something at him and he reflexively thrust his arm out to catch it. The hookshot. Of course. He was significantly heavier than any of the other three, but hopefully it would still hold him. 

He’d find out when he used it, he supposed. 

Ignis flipped past him, daggers drawn and cut down some of the soldiers near Noctis. Noct dropped down from where he’d been hanging and brought his sword down on another Infected. 

“Let’s go!” Gladio shouted, waving his arm.

Prompto sent away the rest of the chocobos and followed, keeping his distance and firing well-aimed shots as he ran— luckily he was a much better shot than the Infected soldiers, and shot several downs as they made their way through the alleys. 

Gladio raised the hookshot at a nearby roof and fired. To his surprise, it worked, but just barely. He caught himself before he fell off the roof, pulling himself up and turning to look at the scene below him. 

“Iggy, catch!” 

Ignis looked up and Gladio threw the hookshot back down to him, hopping across some clustered buildings and then hurrying down one of the ladders back to the ground. The hotel wasn’t far from where they were, and he scanned the area behind him just long enough to be sure he could get eyes on Noctis and then made a break for the hotel, waving his arms. 

“Cor! Nyx! Iris!” He wasn’t sure if anyone heard him, but as he approached he was relieved to see the rope being lowered down to him. Once he saw Noctis warp up to the balcony, he grabbed onto the rope.

Ignis and Prompto weren’t far behind, and Cor helped Gladio bring them both up, and as Cor pulled the rope back up to the third floor, Gladio passed Iris the backpack he’d been holding.

“We got ‘em,” he said. “Hell of a time doing it, but here they are. How are you guys?”

“We’re okay,” Iris replied. “Nyx and Cor have been doing a good job of looking out for us. Haven’t seen much of Ravus and Ardyn though; kind of holed up in their room a lot.” She accepted the backpack, peeking at the meteorshards that were sticking out. 

“They’re so pretty,” she said. “I’ve never seen them this close before.”

“None of us had,” Gladio replied. “But I thought the same thing when I saw them. At least, until Noct almost fell to his death in the crater.”

“What?” Iris’ head jerked over to Noctis, mouth agape. “How?”

“Ground under me wasn’t steady,” Noctis answered. “Crumbled. But it was fine. I held onto a ledge and Gladio got me back up.”

“Be a pretty horrible shield if I hadn’t,” Gladio agreed. He handed the hookshot back to Ignis and Iris pulled the meteorshards out of the backpack. 

“Has— Aranea Highwind, was it?— made any progress on the cure yet?” Ignis asked. 

Nyx shook his head. “Don’t think so. Fingers crossed the shards give us some headway on a cure.” He closed the door of the balcony. “I take it the trip was a success.”

“Almost got trampled by some angry wildlife but we made it back in one piece. Anything interesting happen without us?” Gladio asked. 

Nyx slumped back on the bed of the room and grabbed the radio off the nightstand, fiddling with the knobs. “Nothing,” he replied. “No word from anyone on the radio, but no one hurt or bitten. Guess it means that’s pretty good news, huh?”

Gladio nodded and rubbed his hands together. It felt quieter back at the hotel, the air still heavy although it seemed that some of the tension had cleared. He glanced from Iris, to Cor, to Nyx, and then toward the open door leading to the hallway. “So… the others?” He started. 

“We helped set up a work area from Aranea in one of the free rooms,” Iris informed him. “But she couldn’t really do much until you got back. I’m sure she’ll appreciate the shards. We didn’t know when you were coming back, so we just kind of hung around and made do with the stuff we had. Ravus and Ardyn have mostly stayed out of the way, but Lunafreya and I talked a bit. She showed me this cool new move with my sword that I want to show you!”

Gladio ruffled her hair. “Sure.”

Noctis picked up one of the meteorshards. “I can take these to Aranea,” he said. “There’s something I want to talk to Luna about, so I’ll just drop the shards off and stay with her for a bit.” He didn’t wait for an answer, bending down and putting the shards back into the backpack.

Prompto reached out a hand as if he was going to say something, but fell silent as Noctis left the room, the door falling closed behind him. 


	21. Chapter 21

Iris nearly stumbled as she dodged Cor’s attack, grinning over at Gladio as she did some fancy footwork to regain her balance and lunged up in the air, bringing her sword just a hair’s breadth away from Cor’s shoulder. 

She pulled back, breathing heavily. “See, Gladdy? You were only gone for four days and I’m already way tougher than I was before.”

Cor sheathed his weapon. “It’s true,” he agreed. “Nyx and I have been training her extensively. Her agility and drive are admirable. Her skills might surpass ours before we know it.”

“Doubt she could surpass me,” Gladio replied, laughing as Iris stuck her tongue out at him. “Pretty sure Cor’s just going easy on you.” He was mostly joking; he’d heard Iris training after dinner the night before. He knew how seriously she was taking this. 

“He is not!” Iris protested, setting her sword down and meeting Cor’s gaze, her eyes wide. “You aren’t, are you?”

“I would not be doing my job if I was,” Cor replied. “Though I could have caught you by surprise and attacked when you dropped your sword. You never want to let your guard down in the face of an enemy— even if you’re trying to show off to your brother.”

Iris squeaked in protest. “I am _not_ trying to show off!” 

Gladio laughed. “Sure,” he teased. He turned to Cor. “Think I could have a turn after?”

Cor shook his head. “Not now, but perhaps tonight. There’s something Nyx and I have to check out. We’ve been watching the Infected; it looks like they might be planning something. We intend to find out what.”

Furrowing his brow, Gladio glanced quickly to Iris to see if perhaps she’d known about this, but she was mirroring his own puzzled expression. 

“That doesn’t sound good,” Gladio replied. “I can help with anything you need me to do.”

Cor nodded. “We might need your help, depending on the severity of the situation. For now, the Infected haven’t exactly tried anything, but the way they’ve been moving seems coordinated. It would be wise to—”

It was then that Ignis burst into the room, his eyes wide. “Gladiolus,” he started. “Cor. Prompto and I must speak with you both immediately.”

Gladio turned to Iris to send her away, but she set her jaw, her brown eyes staring defiantly up at him. 

“No,” Iris insisted. “I’m staying here. If anything happens, I need to know about it. You’re always sending me away or telling me to stay put. How can I help when you never let me?”

Gladio exhaled sharply. “Doesn’t sound like this is the time for this argument, Iris,” he said with a stern voice. 

“There is no argument. I’m staying.” Iris crossed her arms. 

Gladio turned back to where Ignis was standing to see Prompto peek around the corner from just outside the room. He looked just as concerned as Ignis. 

“I was the one that told Ignis,” Prompto started. “So. Um. You know how everyone helped with cleaning up after dinner yesterday?”

Gladio nodded. “Out with it.”

“Right. Well. Ardyn had his jacket off to help clean. And I was kind of distracted so I bumped into him and I noticed he had these, like, scratches. On his collarbone, and near his shoulder. I think he might have seen me looking because that’s when he left in that hurry. And then today I noticed him watching me. And I was kind of hanging around to see if he would do anything suspicious when Igster walked by, so I mentioned the scratches to him. If anyone would notice other than me, it’d be Iggy. So. And like, if the scratches were from an Infected and he’s hiding them, that’d be really bad.”

“But I don’t believe they _are_ from an Infected,” Ignis replied. “There was something that didn’t add up with Cindy’s death. At the time, I believed she might have gotten her marks and bruising simply from turning. But I investigated further and found rather incriminating evidence that Ardyn may have had something to do with it.”

***

It was the second time they’d gotten everyone out to interrogate people about Cindy, but this time Ignis looked like he had a plan. He kept his gaze fixed knowingly on Ardyn, steady and commanding attention. 

Ardyn cleared his throat. “Is something the matter, gentlemen?”

“You tell me,” Nyx said, narrowing his eyes at Ardyn. “Sounds like you have some explaining to do.”

“Do I?” Ardyn cast a sweeping glance at all of them, a sly smile on his face. “May I inquire about what for?”

“Cindy,” Prompto surprised Gladio by stepping forward, walking almost directly up to Ardyn. “We need you to take off your jacket. There’s something I saw yesterday that you need to explain.”

The smile on Ardyn’s face twitched. “Why, that’s rather forward, isn’t it?” he asked, making no moves to do as instructed. 

Ignis shook his head. “I’d say it isn’t. It’s all for our safety, you see. We can’t risk you being infected. We’re only taking precautions. Now, if you will.” He gestured to Ardyn’s jacket. 

Out of the corner of his eye, Gladio noticed Ravus cast a tight-lipped glance at Ardyn, who graciously bowed his head and pulled off his jacket to reveal what looked frighteningly similar to scratch marks. Like the ones Cindy had had on her ankle when the Infected swiped at her. Human scratch marks. 

“Where did you get those?” Noctis snarled at him. He started to approach Ardyn, but Gladio stopped him and stepped in front of the prince, staring Ardyn down. He had a good four or so inches on the Chancellor and hoped it was enough to intimidate him just a bit.

“Answer us,” Gladio ordered. “Where’d the scratches come from? An Infected? _Cindy_?”

Ardyn took a step back, but Gladio matched him and stepped forward. “Are you infected?”

“I assure you I most certainly am not,” Ardyn replied. Even though Ardyn was shorter, it still felt like he was talking down to them. The condescending tone was just making Gladio angrier. “These scratches are from ages ago.”

“How long?” Ignis asked. “Perhaps the infection just hasn’t taken hold yet.”

“It wasn’t from an Infected,” Ardyn was clenching his jaw as he pulled away. He reached for his jacket but Ignis swiped it up off the ground first.

“Who the hell would’ve scratched you then?” Gladio asked.

Ignis turned accusatorially to Ardyn. “It was Cindy, wasn’t it?” he asked. “The bruises on her face, and— I just confirmed a few moments ago— skin under her fingernails. If she didn’t scratch you when she turned, she must have done it while she was still alive. While you strangled her. That’s why the scratches didn’t infect you. She hadn’t yet turned when you killed her.”

A pained look came over Lunafreya’s face. “Is this true?” She asked. And then to Ravus, “Please tell me you had no part in this, brother.”

“Of course I didn’t,” Ravus snapped back. “I only knew he found a key. That’s all. I didn’t even know he planned to use it.”

Ardyn whipped out his hand and struck Ravus across the face, the sound echoing through the hall. The first flicker of something— fear?— across his face. “ _Enough_.”

“I think it’s you who’s had quite enough,” Cor drew his weapon. “What key is he talking about? You used it, didn’t you? To get to Cindy. She had locked her door, hadn’t she?”

Prompto nodded. “I’m positive.”

Ardyn’s eyes darted between Gladio, Ravus, and Cor, the smirk on his face finally falling. “Ah,” he pouted. “I suppose you’ve caught me red-handed.” 

He reached toward his pocket and Gladio started to summon his weapon, but Ardyn held out a finger for him to wait as he reached to retrieve something.When he lifted his hand again, hooked around his middle finger was a keyring, the key that dangled from it glistened in the sunlight streaming through the windows. 

Ignis’ eyes widened. “Where did you get it?” 

The smirk was back, but it looked forced; like Ardyn was still trying to lord this one last thing over them. “A master key. Why, it was in the room we’re keeping the chained Infected in! It would’ve been a pity to just leave it there, don’t you think.” He reached out a hand to Prompto. “Prompto, was it? I’ll admit you’re smarter than I gave you credit for.”

Prompto took a step back, looking ill.

“Why’d you do it?” Noctis peered over Gladio’s shoulder to glare at Ardyn. “She never did anything to you.”

“For the greater good!” Ardyn replied, throwing his arms out to his sides in a grand gesture. “She would have turned, anyway. I simply sped up the process. And if she’d gotten out of her room and attacked you as she was supposed to, you’d see that I had been right all along. That she was a threat. Dangerous. You’d listen to _me_. And I wouldn’t complain if she had just so happened to kill a few of you Lucians before one of you put her out of her misery.”

“There are no sides anymore, Ardyn.” Lunafreya glared at him. “It isn’t Niflheim versus Lucis. There are only humans verses Infected. We must work together if we hope to save our world from the darkness that has spread from this virus.”

“And it was listening to you that caused the virus in the first place, Izunia,” Aranea snapped. “Seems to me like we very much _don’t_ need you.”

“I made a promise to my friends,” Noctis stepped out from behind Gladio and held Ardyn’s gaze, “That when I found out what happened to Cindy, whoever had played a part in it would be sent away. I was hoping it wouldn’t be someone I cared about. Guess it makes it easy knowing it was you.”

Gladio relished in the single bead of sweat that he could see glistening on Ardyn’s forehead. “You need me,” Ardyn was saying. “I’m highly trained in the medical field, you know. I could be of a great deal of service to you.”

“Seems like the only thing you’re good at is killing people,” Noctis shot back. “Get the hell away from here. Don’t come back.”

Nyx wrenched the key out of Ardyn’s hand, pocketing it. “What’s the point of living in a world like this? Don’t you want to help us save it, instead of killing the people that are trying to put an end to the Infected and make Eos livable again?”

“She was Infected,” Ardyn insisted. “Otherwise she would have just stayed dead. They only reanimate if they’ve already been Infected. I was doing you all a favor by doing the dirty work. None of the rest of you would’ve done what needed to be done.”

“We intended to keep an eye on her,” Ignis clipped. “If it came to it, and she started falling ill, I would… we would do what was necessary. But not until we were unquestionably sure.”

“I won’t say it again.” Noctis was seething. “Get. The Hell. Out.”

Ardyn studied them all, craned his neck toward Ravus. And then back at Noctis. “I will go,” he said. “But mark my words. You’ll come crawling back begging for my help. And then I might just not be in the mood to assist you.”

“Luna’s just as good a healer as you,” Noctis hissed. “We don’t need you. We’ll see you out.”

“Suit yourself,” Ardyn strode purposefully past them, his cape billowing out behind him as he entered the room with the balcony. He cast one last look at all of them, and Gladio could see the absolute seething fury in his eyes as he snagged the rope and lowered himself down. 

Gladio watched as the man glanced back up toward the hotel, dipped his hat, and vanished down one of the alleyways. Gladio could no longer see him between the Infected, but he didn’t care. Ardyn was gone. 

They were silent for a long while, just processing what had just happened when Cor turned to Nyx. “If you would, I could use your help to check out that area the Infected have been hanging around. If they’re planning something, I would like to find out what.”

Nyx nodded. He followed Cor down the hall to the back staircase. 

Lunafreya was frowning at Ravus, a look of disbelief upon her features. “I cannot believe you worked for that wretched man for so many years.”

“Not as wretched as the man who let our mother die and then left us to Niflheim to meet the same fate,” Ravus argued back. “I will not discuss this with you, sister. Lucis betrayed me. Niflheim has not.”

“Niflheim is the reason we’re in this mess.” Luna’s voice was steady, her eyes narrowed and fixed on Ravus. “I expected better judgment from you.”

“Well on that, I suppose we disagree.” 

Lunafreya reached out a hand to Ravus’ arm, but he pulled it away and turned hastily on his heels, retreating to his room. Lunafreya stared after him and then excused herself.

Noctis buried his head in his hands, Ignis directing him back to his and Gladio’s room. Gladio and Prompto followed close behind, shutting the door as Noctis collapsed onto the bed, swinging an arm over his face. 

“I don’t know what do to,” he admitted, voice muffled behind his arm. “Was that the right choice, sending him out like that? I basically just sent him to his death. I know… what he did was unforgivable, but. Was it inevitable, like he said? Would she have turned anyway? Was he just doing what the rest of us couldn’t?”

“We don’t know,” Ignis sighed. “And I suppose we never will, now. But you did the right thing, Noct. Ardyn is dangerous; he proved that. He wanted us dead—  you, specifically, I imagine. I would have killed him myself if he dared to so much as lay a hand on you.”

“I know, Specs,” Noctis muttered. “I just… I don’t know. This is a mess.”

“You got that right.” Prompto sat criss-cross on the edge of the bed, picking at his fingernails. “But no more Ardyn.”

“No more Ardyn,” Noctis echoed. “Thank the gods.”


	22. Chapter 22

“Do you think we can trust Ravus? I mean, I know he’s the princess’ brother and all, but like. He was working for the Empire. What if he turns against us for kicking Ardyn out yesterday?” Iris asked, sprawled out on Gladio and Ignis’ bed as she kicked her legs absentmindedly into the air.

“He won’t,” Gladio assured her. Why Izunia was still so focused on winning a war that was no longer a concern was beyond him, but he knew Ravus wasn’t stupid enough to try and pull something. Not with Lunafreya with them.

“But what if?”

“Then we’ll kick him out too,” said Noctis offhandedly from where he sat around the ottoman. He glanced up at Prompto. “Go fish.”

“We can’t just kick out anyone we don’t like,” Gladio raised an eyebrow at him. “Don’t think that would sit very well with Lunafreya. And besides, Ardyn killed Cindy. That couldn’t just slide. Ravus is a dick, but he ain’t a murderer.”

Noctis shrugged, but didn’t comment further. 

“We shouldn’t bring new people in from now on, though,” Ignis said, softly. “No matter how tempting. Especially those we don’t know. We should focus on ourselves and our survival. Everything else is secondary.”

“Do you have a six?” Noctis asked.

Prompto handed him a card. 

Gladio sat at the foot of the other bed, resting his arms on his knees and watched everyone as they made idle chit-chat. 

Cor had filled him in on the situation regarding the Infected that he and Nyx had been investigating. The way the creatures were moving— or not moving, some days— was alarming, to say the least. It was almost as if instead of _their_ group monitoring the Infected, the Infected were studying _them_. It was unnerving, especially because beyond just walking around and staring, the Infected hadn’t done much the entire time Gladio and the other three had been on their little errand for meteorshards.

Ignis must have noticed that Gladio was lost in thought and looked at him quizzically. “Is everything alright?” He asked. 

Gladio sighed. “I’m fine,” he muttered. “I guess I just didn’t think the dead would be quite this smart.”

“ _Un_ dead,” Ignis corrected. “I spoke to Aranea about it shortly before the incident with Ardyn. Perhaps how well they learn is dependent on how much of the deceased’s body the virus managed to revive. Which would mean it would vary from person to person.”

“But Ardyn did have a point though,” Prompto said quietly, drawing everyone’s attention. He glanced down at the cards in his hand. “I mean— right? About Cindy. She wouldn’t have turned unless she already had the virus in her. It only takes effect when someone infected by it dies. So like… she would’ve gotten worse. Or maybe she wouldn’t have shown signs of being Infected until much later, it just being a scratch and all. But if she wasn’t Infected, she would have just stayed dead. Ardyn was taking a risk to prove a point to us. To prove how dangerous even a scratch can be.”

“Yeah, but Ardyn didn’t _know_ ,” Noctis replied. “He just wanted to be right. Someone like that is too dangerous to have around.”

“I’m not suggesting we go out there and be like, ‘hey Ardyn, sorry. Wanna come back?’ but.” Prompto swallowed hard. “He was right, wasn’t he?”

Gladio frowned. “Yeah. He was right.”

“Okay, well we’ll just have to be extra careful,” Iris chimed in. “We still have our radio, thanks to Cindy. So we train harder, keep a sharper eye on the Infected, and have an ear to the radio at all times.”

“Do you have a two?” Noctis asked. 

Prompto groaned and handed it over. “You always win,” he sighed. 

“It’s mostly just luck.” Even as he said so, Noctis was grinning.

“Then you’re lucky.” Prompto leaned back in his chair, earning him a stern look from Ignis. “Any of you guys wanna try a hand against Noct?”

“I will!” Iris hopped off the bed, nearly tripping over her feet as she sat where Prompto had been. “Ready to face a champion, Noct?”

“Are _you_?” Noctis shot back as he shuffled the cards.

Before they could get their game well and truly underway, there was a knock at their door. Nyx called out to them: “Can I come in? There’s something I could use your help with.”

“Whose help?” Noctis called back. “There’s five of us in here.”

Ignis stood and pulled the door open, where Nyx stood. “Sorry to ruin your fun,” Nyx said, rubbing his neck. “But Miss Highwind’s finished with the first round of the cure and we might need your help in there to test it.”

Gladio couldn’t see Ignis’ expression, but the way his back straightened told him that he was shifting back into his more professional demeanor. “Ah,” Ignis said. “I’ll be just a moment. Are they in the room already?”

“Nah,” Nyx replied. “Not yet. The more people who can fight in case things go awry, the better.”

“I suppose we should separate the Infected we plan to test on first,” Ignis told him. “Lest the others catch on to what we’re doing. We can test the cure in another room.”

Gladio got to his feet, stretching his arms. “I can help too.” 

Nyx smiled. It didn’t reach his eyes. “Thanks.”

Iris said something softly to Noctis and handed her cards to Prompto. “I’d like to help. I can hold my own and can help protect you guys if anything goes wrong.”

“Absolutely not.” Gladio avoided meeting her gaze, knowing full-well that if she caught him with her pleading look, he might not be able to say no. “You’re not ready.”

“If it was up to you, I’d never be ready, Gladio,” Iris snapped back. “They’re literally chained up. If I can’t fight an Infected who’s restrained, who the hell _can_ I fight?”

“Enough, Iris. We can talk about it later,” Gladio warned. It was more so to just get her off his back about this, but it clearly didn’t work because Iris scrambled over and grabbed his arm. He could have easily pulled away from her, he was way stronger than her and could pick her up and fling her across the room if he really wanted to. 

But of course, he never would.

Iris was raising her voice now, her jaw clenched, and she fixed him with a steely-eyed expression. “Stop changing the subject, _Gladiolus_.” His full-name sounded strange on her tongue, and she clearly thought so too because she wrinkled her nose and shook her head before continuing: “You always do that. You got me a sword. You’re teaching me to fight. Hell, you even praised me for straight-up kicking a voretooth in the face when it attacked King Regis. But suddenly you won’t let me do anything!” She paused. “Dad would have let me.”

“Dad’s _dead_ now, Iris,” Gladio bellowed. 

Iris fell silent and blinked up at him, her eyes big and round, but now she’d set fuel to the fire, and he continued, feeling his face heat up with rage. “And I get it, he was doing his damn job, and I’m proud of him for it, but he was trained for _years_. He’s trained for longer than you’ve been alive, and now he’s dead because it still wasn’t good enough. These Infected kill, and they kill worse. And I’ll be damned if I let them get anywhere _near_ you or have to kill you to keep you from turning. No fucking way.”

The toe of Iris’ boot collided with his shin. It hardly hurt, but it would still probably bruise. Her face was just as red as his probably was. 

“You don’t get to decide that!” Iris screamed back at him. “Like it or not, this is how things are now. I don’t want to die, but I need to know what we’re facing. It’s always training! I’ve never even fought a real Infected. Just you, Nyx, and Cor, and none of you go as hard as you need to. I won’t die if you let me fight, but I _will_ die if you hole me up in here and never let me learn about them or defend myself. And you keep telling me that I’m a great fighter, that I could hold my own in a fight, but it all means shit if you don’t even let me prove it!” 

“Fine, then!” Gladio slammed his fist on the nightstand table. Iris didn’t flinch. “Go out there and fight them. You won’t last five minutes. I’ll try not to tell you ‘I told you so’ before I kill your infected ass.”

“ _Enough_!” Ignis’ voice cut through the air like daggers.

Gladio reared his head back and regarded Ignis and the others. In his rage, he’d entirely forgotten they were all there. It had just been him and Iris then, at each other’s throats. But now, there the others were, regarding the both of them with varying degrees of concern and shock.

Ignis opened his mouth to speak, but Gladio didn’t want to hear it right now. Didn’t want to face the fact that he would need to let Iris go out there, and what that would mean. He couldn’t protect everyone all the time, but gods— he wished he could. 

Before Ignis could say anything more, Gladio shoved past everyone and toward the door. Nyx stepped out of the way to allow him to pass by. 

“I’m going to find Aranea to help with the testing.” Gladio said. He let the door swing shut as he stomped down the hall. 

He found Aranea in her room; the door propped open with a box, her back to Gladio as he entered the room. He wouldn’t be surprised if the entire group had overheard the screaming match between him and Iris, but when he entered the room, Aranea at least seemed like she wasn’t going to bring it up. Without so much as even turning to face him, she said, “We ready to try this thing?”

“Not yet,” Gladio replied. “Nyx and Ignis might be coming to help too.”

Aranea finally turned, eyeing Gladio. “So you’re the Shield?” She asked. “Probably a good person to have around for this kinda thing.”

“Yeah, that’s what I think too. Ignis might be the one you want for strategies, but brute force can also do the job. Just gotta hit them harder and faster than they can hit you.”

The corners of Aranea’s lips quirked up. “That’s what I used to think, too,” she said. “But sometimes talking helps. Can’t really negotiate with the dead.”

“Or undead,” Gladio added.

Aranea got to her feet, the chair creaking as she swiped a vial up from her desk and held it out to Gladio. “This is it. Looks rather unexciting, doesn’t it?”

“Don’t care how it looks, so long as it works.”

“Well,” Aranea’s smile was grim. “I guess we’ll see, won’t we?” She turned back to the table and pulled out a briefcase, opening it up and pulling out a syringe. “Nabbed this big boy back in Gralea. Figured it might come in handy.”

Gladio nodded, watching her with rapt attention as she filled up the syringe with the blue-green liquid. 

Aranea turned back around to face him, her eyes fixed on something over his shoulder. “Ah, Nyx, you’re finally back,” she said. “What took you two so long?”

“Damage control,” came Ignis’ clipped reply. 

Gladio hadn’t even heard them come down the hall. When he turned, Ignis had fixed him with a steely look that told him that what went down with Iris would not be forgotten so easily. 

“Sorry to hear that,” Aranea said. “Are you ready or what?”

“Quite.”

They followed her down the hall to the room the Infected were being held in, and Nyx used the master key he’d gotten from Ardyn to unlock the door. They crowded into the room: Gladio first, and then Aranea, with Ignis and Nyx bringing up the rear. 

The three Infected inside the room were chained up, their legs and arms bound with rope for extra security, the bags still over their heads. 

“Guess even Izunia didn’t want these guys escaping,” said Aranea dryly. 

They couldn’t see their faces, but judging by their clothes, only one of the three was a Niflheim soldier. Gladio made a beeline toward that one, gesturing to the others. “This one,” he said. “Any objections?”

Even though its face was obscured, the Infected in question jerked its head up, turning to look in the direction of the voices. It made a low sound, something between a growl and a wail. The other two Infected raised their heads as well, but didn’t make a sound.

“Yeah. Let’s get ’em outta here,” Nyx agreed, stepping forward. “How do we want to do this? Each grab an arm?” He handed Ignis the key to lock up after they got back out.

“Yeah. Count of three.” With a deep breath, Gladio counted and snatched the Infected’s right hand while Nyx grabbed the left. The creature tried to snap at them, but only got a mouthful of the sack over its head. The other two started mimicking the sounds the first was making as Ignis grabbed the chains and Aranea cleared the way, shutting the door behind them as they forced the screeching soldier through the door. 

The moment the door was shut, the two remaining Infected in the room ceased wailing, going completely silent again. The one they had brought out with them, tilted its head, twitched, and then fell silent, too. 

“What just happened back there?” Nyx asked. 

“We can worry about that later,” Aranea replied. “Four-eyes, you mind opening the door across from us with that key of yours?” 

Still keeping a tight grip on the chain, Ignis maneuvered around the group and the Infected and unlocked the door, pushing it open before stepping farther back into the room so Gladio and Nyx could shove the Infected inside. 

Aranea closed the door, but didn’t lock it, her eyes trained on the Infected as she pulled out the syringe. “Um. Okay. Here comes the fun part. We gotta take the bag off its head so we can see if it works. I don’t know what’s supposed to happen, but at the very least he should probably look less… dead. For starters.”

She didn’t sound very convincing, but they didn’t really have many other options. 

“Inject it first,” Ignis cut in. “We can’t risk it flailing around and biting us. Then we can take the bag off its head.”

Aranea took a deep breath. Exhaled. And nodded. “Okay.” She stepped forward, her hands steady despite the hesitation in her voice as she emptied the content of the syringe into the soldier’s arm. 

Nyx leaned forward and in one swift motion, pulled off the bag. The Infected snarled, teeth gnashing as it tried to sink its teeth into Nyx’s hand, but he expertly pulled away and stepped back. 

They stood by and watched the Infected swinging its head and glaring at everyone as it struggled against the chains binding it. It looked like it was beginning to slow for a few seconds before it began thrashing anew, pulling more frantically against the restraints. 

Gladio didn’t dare speak. No one else did either. The Infected thrashed some more, convulsed, and then drooped its head. After several minutes of watching it motionless, Aranea cleared her throat. 

“Is it… dead?”

“No,” Ignis answered. “I don’t think so.”

As if on cue, the Infected’s head shot back up, its eyes boring into Gladio. It made a gagging sound low in its throat and then twisted its mouth into a grimace. “Kill… you…” it hissed, and promptly hacked up bile that it spit onto the floor at Gladio’s feet. 

He didn’t flinch, but he did take a step slightly to the left. “It doesn’t look like it worked,” Gladio muttered to Aranea. “But it sure did _something_.”

Ignis and Aranea exchanged a glance. Ignis sighed heavily, stepped forward, and embedded his dagger into the Infected soldier’s head. 

It sputtered, but didn’t look surprised as it sneered up at Ignis. This time, when its head dropped, it stayed dead. Ignis kept his eyes on the body as he wiped off his dagger and holstered it.

Aranea cursed loudly. “The dosage must not have been right,” she groaned. “I can’t believe I made them talk now, that’s even worse than it was before.” She pocketed the syringe. “I’ll try and change the ingredients. Or the dosage. Or something. I’ve got some more things I can try,” Aranea muttered under her breath. “Damn. I was really hoping this would work.”

“I think we all were,” Nyx admitted. “But we won’t give up hope. We’ll keep helping you as long as we’ve got a cure to test.”

***

That night, as Gladio was laying in bed, Ignis said, “Iris was right, you know. Earlier. Don’t think you’ve gotten out of this just because we had other matters to attend to.”

Gladio groaned and pressed a hand to his face. “We really gotta talk about this now?”

“Yes.”

Gladio could feel his gaze on him even in the dark. He wasn’t getting out of this discussion, then. He groaned again. “I know she was,” he relented, after a few several long minutes. “I just… damn. I don’t want to see her get hurt. She’s my baby sister.”

“And she needs to know how to navigate our world now,” Ignis replied. “Let’s take her out tomorrow, shall we? Have her kill a few Infected, see how comfortable she is. If worse comes to worst and we ever aren’t around to protect her, would you not want her to be able to protect herself? You’ve trained Iris, now let her prove to you how well.”

“Not outside the hotel,” Gladio grumbled from behind his hand. “At least not at first. What if we let her kill one of the ones that are chained up? That way if anything goes wrong, or she hesitates, the Infected won’t be able to harm her and we can step in. She can work her way up to supply runs.”

Ignis seemed to ponder this for a moment. “All right,” he said. “But only on the condition that she does truly get to go out once she works up to it. I’ll take her myself if you’re worried. I can handle all of us.”

“I believe it,” Gladio replied. “But I’ll do it. I’m not a wuss. I just worry.”

“As do we all.” Ignis reached out cup Gladio’s cheek. “But you cannot fault her for wanting to be out in the middle of the battlefield. I believe it runs in your family to occasionally be a bit reckless in order to prove yourself, does it not?”

Gladio smiled at that. “Yeah.” He exhaled, somewhere between a chuckle and a sigh. “S’pose it does. Guess I owe her a big apology.”

“You _certainly_ do.”


	23. Chapter 23

“And you know what you need to do, right?” Gladio asked, for what had to be the hundredth time. 

Iris rolled her eyes. “Yes,” she assured him. “It’s easy. You’re acting like I’ve never fought anything before in my entire life. Go in there, stab it in the head, leave. We’ve gone over this for hours, Gladio.”

“It’s because you need to understand what you’re up against,” Gladio replied, sharply. “They might look helpless all chained up like that, but even so much as a _scratch_ is a death sentence.”

Iris frowned and didn’t answer as they approached the room. Iris didn’t even seem the least bit anxious, just frustrated and ready, but Gladio couldn’t shake the nervous energy that seemed to run throughout his whole body. He slipped the key into the lock. Turned it. 

“So… you’re ready?” He asked. 

Without giving him an answer, Iris turned the handle of the door and pushed it open. She acted quickly; before Gladio had time to tell her which one would be easiest to kill, she seemed to do all that analysis herself.

She crossed the room and pulled the bag off the Infected’s head. The civilian cocked its head back, its dark eyes shifting between Iris standing in front of him, and Gladio in the doorway. 

“The head,” Gladio whispered under his breath. He doubted Iris could even hear him from where she was standing, but it was comforting to him, nonetheless. If only they’d started with a soldier instead of a civilian. If only Iris would just let him jump in and do it himself. If only…

Iris took a deep breath and thrust her blade into its head. The Infected spasmed, shuddering against its restraints. It wailed long and low, stirring the second Infected as they both howled, the sound echoing through the room before the Infected slumped over dead. 

She turned to Gladio, breathless and shaky as she lowered her sword. “I did it.” Her voice trembled. “Gladdy— did you see that? I did it!” 

“Yeah,” Gladio allowed himself a small smile. “I saw, Iris.” He swung an arm over her shoulders, careful not to knock her over. She shoved him away playfully, but he could still feel how jittery she was. Or maybe that was him, he couldn’t really tell. 

Iris cast a glance back at the Infected she had killed. “Are we just going to leave it there?” She asked. 

“For now,” Gladio replied. “We’ll deal with it later.” He led her out of the room, the screeching of the last chained Infected dying down when Gladio clicked the lock shut. “You handled that pretty expertly in there,” he admitted. 

Iris beamed up at him. “So that means I can come with you on the patrol today?”

Gladio shook his head. “Not today. I’ll take you out on one soon though. This is your first time killing one of them, you’re probably feeling a little stressed.”

Iris jutted out her bottom lip. “Ignis said I could go with you guys.”

“What?” Gladio paused, frowning. “When did you talk to Ignis?” 

“This morning. And he said if I could handle what you wanted me to do with the chained one, you might let me come on the supply run.” 

_Might_. The keyword there being ‘might’, but he knew Iris didn’t care about that. And Ignis had been right last night, he needed to start taking her out more and getting her used to things outside. She needed to know how to survive. 

She was still staring expectantly up at him, her mind certainly already made up. He didn’t really want a repeat of their last argument, so with a sigh, he said, “Okay. Fine.”

“Yes!” She dropped her sword and jumped excitedly. She held out her fist. “ _Promise_?”

He bumped her fist with his own. “Yeah. Promise. But if anything goes wrong…”

“It won’t,” Iris assured him. “I can handle this. It’s nothing. I just have to tell myself that they’re just… creatures. And it’s really sad, but there’s nothing we can do about it right now except protect ourselves. I’m not afraid to kill them if it means saving myself or you guys.”

“You don’t have to save us,” Gladio chuckled. “That’s my job.”

“Well, I’m an Amicitia too,” Iris replied. “I can help.”

“Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.” Gladio picked her sword back up and handed it to her. “It’ll be harder for you since you don’t have access to the armiger. You gotta keep tabs on your rune saber at all times. If you lose it, there’s no vanishing it and summoning it again.”

Iris carefully took the proffered sword. “I know that,” she acknowledged. “I don’t plan on losing it. But it’s safe to set it down right now. I’m not stupid enough to set it down on the battlefield. You know, I thought Ignis was the nag.”

“Watch it,” Gladio warned, but his tone held very little threat. “You’re my little sister. And Iggy’s just trying to make sure everyone’s taken care of.”

“I’m not little. I’m fifteen.” Iris rolled her eyes. “I didn’t even flinch when I killed that Infected. I can handle it.”

That was what worried him, although he’d never admit it. But then again, Iris had seen what the Infected could do. She knew how dangerous they were. At this point, it was kill or be killed, and if that kind of ruthlessness was necessary, he preferred it over the alternative. Anything that would keep Iris alive. “I believe it,” he told her. “I got your back, you got mine?”

Iris grinned. Nodded. “Definitely.”

They returned to his room in lighter spirits, and Ignis looked up from where he was sitting in a chair, scribbling notes in a journal. He caught their expressions, a warm look settling across his features. “Ah.” He closed the journal and set it aside. “You’ve returned. Am I correct in assuming that it was a success?”

Iris bounded over to him, pausing momentarily to prop her rune saber up against the wall. “You bet it was!” She crowed. “And I get to go on the supply run!”

“Though we should figure out what we need first,” Ignis told her. “It would be unwise to go out without a plan of action, or an idea of what we’re looking for.”

“Anything you wanna make for dinner over the next few nights?” Gladio asked, to which Ignis nodded. 

“I spoke to Nyx as well; it hasn’t rained lately. We should keep an eye out for water, though I’m sure it won’t be easy to find. And no sign of Ardyn, but I’m sure he’s still around, so we should be wary in case he tries to show up.”

Gladio listened as Ignis rattled off a list of things to be aware of, smirking at Iris. “You sure you can remember all this?” He joked, earning a soft giggle from her. To Ignis, he asked. “Where are the others? Think we should bring a few more people?”

“Last I saw, Noct was napping in the radio room. Prompto and Lunafreya are in one of their rooms; I believe Prompto was rather excited to show her some of the pictures he’s taken. They’ve hit it off rather well.”

“Doesn’t surprise me,” Gladio replied. “That kid’s bubbly enough to make anyone love him.”

Ignis gave a fond smile. “That he is. I’d hate to wake Noct, but perhaps Prompto might join us. Lunafreya as well, if she would like. I wouldn’t be opposed to asking Nyx or Cor, either.”

Gladio laughed. “Can you imagine if Noct wakes up and everyone’s gone? Maybe some of us should stay here.”

“There’s always Ravus,” Iris chimed in, a self-satisfied grin on her face. “He’s great company.”

“Right,” Gladio snorted. “Ravus. The guy who hates Noct so much he joined the enemy side just to have a shot at killing him. Definitely someone I’d leave alone with the prince.” He ruffled Iris’ hair, despite her protests. “Nah. Maybe Nyx and Cor should stay behind after all. They’re the only ones I’d trust to protect Noct besides us two,” he jerked his thumb toward Ignis and then himself. 

Ignis nodded. “We can speak to the others before we go, see if there’s anything they need. I will see if Prompto or Lunafreya would like to join us.”

***

As it was, both Prompto _and_ Lunafreya were interested in joining them. Lunafreya made an offhand comment about how her brother would throw a fit if he knew, and Gladio shrugged. 

“Don’t have to tell him then. If he complains, we kick him out.”

Lunafreya laughed, “I highly doubt that will be necessary.”

“You never know,” Gladio shrugged. “We’ll keep you safe, though. This is Iris’ first time going out too, so we’ll be extra careful.”

“Iris is coming?” Prompto piped up. He swung his backpack over his shoulder. 

Gladio nodded. “Yeah. Not my idea, but Iggy and I talked about it and it’s better to get her out there now and have her ready. If we don’t make it outta here, I want to know she can handle herself.”

Prompto’s grin faltered. “Ah. Right. Yeah, I understand."

When the three of them stepped out of the room, Aranea was standing in the hallway, leaning against the doorframe of her room-turned-lab. “You’re goin’ on a supply run?” She asked. When Gladio nodded, she added. “If you can nab one of those Infected while you’re out there, that’d be great. Gonna test a new version of the cure on the last of the Infected that Izunia captured today, so we’ll probably need more.”

“We’ll keep an eye out,” Gladio said by way of agreement. No promises, especially with Iris in tow, but they’d need to keep gathering Infected as long as it took Aranea to develop this cure she was bent on making. So, sure, he’d try to get one.

Prompto was gathering rope, and Lunafreya had collected a gun and a backpack of her own, and Gladio tried not to look too surprised when she loaded it herself, but he must have failed because she threw him an amused look. 

“You think it strange that I know how to use a gun?” She asked. “I was raised a captive in Tenebrae for a long time. I took it upon myself to learn how to use weapons in self-defense. I do not wish to use them, but I will not hesitate to protect those I love should they find themselves in need of it.”

“Fair enough,” Gladio replied. “Guess you wouldn’t be here unless you could hold your own.” The princess didn’t strike him as someone who would willingly kill anyone or anything, but he supposed in times like this, people did what they had to just to survive.

Noctis was still sleeping as the four of them crowded into the radio room. He didn’t stir when Gladio threw open the balcony doors, nor when Ignis pulled one of the blankets off the bed and draped it gently around the prince’s shoulders. 

“Sleeping like a baby,” Gladio commented.

 Ignis gave a soft smile. “At least one of us can.”

Gladio caught Lunafreya watching the scene fondly, a hint of sadness in her eyes, but when she noticed him looking at her, she looked quickly away. Wedding or not, she clearly still cared for Noctis.

Lunafreya sought out Prompto’s hand and gave it a squeeze. “Are you ready?” She asked him.

“Hell yeah,” Prompto replied. He started to move toward the window, but Ignis held out a hand to stop them.

Gladio frowned, watching Ignis peer over the balcony, his hand still outstretched. “What is it?” He asked. “Something wrong?”

“Yes. The Infected. They aren’t there,” Ignis murmured.

“What?” Iris asked. She hopped over to the window, ducking under Gladio’s hand as he tried to intercept her to look over the balcony beside Ignis. “Huh. You’re not kidding. Where are they?”

Gladio joined the two of them to look down at the city. Something was very wrong. Just the other day, the Infected had been gathering around the hotel in large groups. Very large, _silent_ groups. Watching them, just as they had been watching the Infected. And now they were all just… gone? 

“I can ask Cor,” Gladio started. “He kept watch last night. Maybe he saw where they went.”

Cor did not, in fact, know where they went. He looked as perplexed as the rest of them when he looked off the balcony at the empty streets below. “What the hell.” He said, flatly. “That doesn’t add up. They were here before.”

Noctis stirred from his place beside the radio, blinking sleepily up at Gladio. “What’s wrong?” He mumbled, his voice still rough with sleep. 

“Infected are gone,” Gladio replied.

Noct went from half-asleep to wide awake faster than he ever had in his life. “Wha—”

“Come see for yourself.”

Tugging the blanket more securely over his shoulders, Noctis approached the balcony. “Where did they go?” he asked.

“That’s what we’re trying to figure out,” Ignis sighed, adjusting his glasses. “But the matter stands that we need to gather more supplies. The tarp hasn’t collected much rain for over a week now. We could do with some water and anything else we can find.”

“I vote we keep away from the plaza,” Prompto said. “Especially since we don’t know where all these Infected went off to. The plaza is like, smack-dab in the middle. It’s like. Infected haven.”

“Fine by me.” Gladio still wasn’t really comfortable going out without knowing where the Infected were, especially since Iris was coming with them, but he supposed they just had to get it over with. Waiting would only delay the inevitable, and he didn’t want to be caught in the middle of whatever those things were planning.

Ignis volunteered to go down first, in case anything was seriously wrong. They all climbed down the rope one after another, with Gladio bringing up the rear as Cor pulled the rope back up to the balcony. 

Iris glanced around. “So… should we just… walk?” 

Ignis shoved his hookshot into her hands. “It would be best to exercise caution,” he said. “Especially until we know what is going on. Let us make haste, and if anything corners you, use the hookshot. It’ll get you to safety.”

Iris pursed her lips and nodded, clutching the hookshot tightly in one hand and her sword in the other. Gladio put a hand on her back, hoping that it would help her feel safer as they scanned the streets and hurried through the back alleys out to the front road.

“I found some of them,” Prompto whispered. He pointed out to the mini-mart near the gas station, where about twenty or so Infected— civilians, power plant workers, and soldiers alike— stood in front of the doors, as if they were guarding it. 

“They’re starving us out,” Gladio growled under his breath. “Damn. I bet you’re right and that plaza is even worse.”

“We must fight for the supplies then,” Luna steadied her gun. “Prompto and I can draw their attention if that would help, as we are the ones with firearms.”

Prompto nodded. “We can distract them. And then when they come toward us, the rest of you guys can sneak around behind them and cut their heads off. Or something.”

“That works,” Ignis replied. He looked like he was taking in everything at once, eyes darting up and around, every which way. “We need to get into the store. Water is a priority; Anything else is a bonus.”

“I can wrangle the Infected,” Gladio said. “Everyone else, just focus on not dying.”

Ignis slipped a gloved hand around Gladio’s. “And you. Don’t die either,” he said, leaning in to kiss him gently. Gladio chased his mouth, but Ignis was already pulling away, slipping his advisor mask back on as he readied his daggers. “Let’s move. Lunafreya, Prompto, I believe the best place to stand would be there,” he pointed a gloved finger to some stairs, where there was partial cover. “It leads to the car park, and it’s circular, so if the Infected run at you, you’ll still be able to circle around and escape.”

“Please, call me Luna,” Lunafreya said. “I’ve grown quite fond of the nickname.” 

Ignis blinked. “Princess Luna, then,” he said. “Are you ready?”

Prompto and Luna nodded, darting out and down the stairs. 

Gladio didn’t realize he was holding his breath until he could hear gunshots. He exhaled as several Infected collapsed, several more racing toward where Prompto and Luna crouched on the staircase.

He sprung into action. Iris was on his left, and Gladio hurled his greatsword at a power plant worker, lopping the head off while Iris simultaneously stabbed through another one.

 “Good!” Gladio shouted. He hadn’t even meant to say it out loud, but Iris clearly appreciated it, as she spared a glance at him to grin before delving back into battle. 

She quickly vanished into the incoming horde of Infected, and Gladio focused his attention on killing as many of them as he could reach before he reached the door of the mini-mart. He pulled it open and slipped inside.

The store had been thoroughly picked over, but Gladio could see a few bottles of water tucked in the back on their sides in the once-refrigerated area, now room-temperature as he pulled open the glass door and forced his arm as far back as it would go. His fingers closed around the cap of one bottle of water and he groaned as he worked it out of the fridge. He shoved it into his bag and reached back in for another when he heard a loud shattering noise from back near the door. 

He cursed under his breath as he ducked down behind one of the shelves, peering through the slats as several Infected shoved their way through the broken glass and into the shop. He could see a brick amidst the glass that the Infected had no doubt used to break into the store, and had stepped inside, though why they hadn’t just walked in through the door was beyond him. _These things were supposed to be smart, weren’t they?_

The glass crunched under the Infected woman’s boots as she jerked her head around to try and glimpse Gladio. Letting out a snarl, she shoved over some nearby shelves, cans and various bags of food spilling out over the floor as Gladio used the loud noise to his advantage and snuck across to the shelves on the other side of the shop to sneak up behind the Infected. 

The gunshots were louder now, which meant that Prompto and Luna were closer, and Gladio saw Iris race into the store, two Infected Niflheim soldiers pursuing her as she threw herself around the corner and pressed her back up against the wall. 

The commotion drew the attention of the Infected that had looking for Gladio, and the moment it turned its back, he ducked and rolled, righting himself as he approached the Infected and ran it through with his greatsword, nearly slicing it in two as it fell dead at his feet. 

He’d had to roll through the broken glass to get to the Infected, and now that she was dead, he grimaced, holding up his arm to the sunlight streaming through the window to get a better look at the injury. 

Was it giving the Infected too much credit to think that smashing the glass with a brick had been intentional and that it had wanted to make the store a dangerous battlefield?

He clenched his teeth as he brushed the shards of glass from his arm. He hadn’t been pierced by anything big, thank the gods, and the bleeding wasn’t as bad as it could have been, so he shook off the stinging and turned his attention to the Iris. 

She was holding her own against the two Infected that had chased her into the store. Though not quite tall enough to reach the Infected’s head, she was able to stab it through the middle, and then sliced at its legs, knocking it off balance just enough to raise her sword and slice at its head. 

It wasn’t a clean cut, and Iris pulled her sword back and sliced its neck several more times in a desperate attempt to cut off its head before Gladio came up behind it and finished the job. 

“I _had_ it,” Iris snapped, her eyes following the head as it rolled past her and came to a stop against the wall of the shop. 

Gladio narrowed his eyes at her. “I have the bigger sword,” he said, holding up his greatsword as if she didn’t know that. “I’m stronger, and bigger slices cut deeper.” He reached out a hand to help her hop over the Infected’s body. 

“There’s one more!” Iris shouted, and Gladio turned to see the other Infected that had run in after her coming toward them at breakneck speed. 

He eyed Iris, a grin tugging at the corners of his mouth. “Wanna try something?” He asked, lowering his greatsword to the ground. 

“You know I do!” 

Iris used Gladio’s shoulder to balance her as she hopped onto the blade of his sword. He’d only tried this once before with Noctis, (and it had ended in the prince breaking his arm), but Iris was a lot lighter than Noct, and Gladio was a lot stronger than he’d been when he’d first attempted it. He lifted her with ease. 

Iris leapt off the blade, using the momentum to drive her sword down through the top of the other soldier’s head. The Infected stopped and stumbled forward, as though it hadn’t yet realized what had happened. It reached an armored hand up to touch the handle of the rune saber protruding from its skull before it crumpled. 

Gladio stepped forward and pulled the sword from its dead body, trying to tune out the sickening noise it made as he slid it out. He wiped it on the ground and handed it back to Iris. “That was a damn good strike there.”

“Did you see how we did that? I was like— whaa! And then I was like wha-bam!” Iris giggled, pretending to jump up in the area and recreate the move she’d just done. “That was freaking awesome!”

Gladio peered past her, his heart sinking as he saw more Infected come through the front of the store. “Got more company,” he told Iris. “Shield’s up; you’re on water duty. Arms are skinner ’n mine.” 

He faced the Infected head-on as it lunged at him. This Infected didn’t look nearly as dead as the ones he was used to, dressed in a nice souvenir Lestallum tee and well-tailored pants. Clearly, the guy had been vacationing in Lestallum, perhaps he had even managed to hold out for quite some time— or he’d just been in hiding and died the moment he’d set foot outside. 

“Doesn’t matter now,” Gladio muttered under his breath. “Still dead.” He raised his sword, but instead of continuing to run at him, the Infected dropped and slid, kicking Gladio in the shin. He growled and steadied himself, about to swing again when he saw Iris behind the Infected, gesturing to her backpack and then pulled an invisible rope. 

That’s right. They’d promised Aranea. He pulled the rope from his bag and tossed one end of the rope to Iris. This Infected would do as good as any. Between the two of them, they managed to get the rope around the guy, pulling it tight and trapping its arms. Iris plucked a grocery bag from behind the cash register and popped it over top of the Infected man’s head. 

It snarled and bit at the plastic, but without use of its arm or teeth, it was pretty much useless. “Quick thinking,” Gladio told Iris. “You got the waters?”

“There weren’t very many, but I got the ones that were there,” she answered. “In my backpack.”

Gladio nodded. “Okay. Let’s blow this joint.” He gathered both ends of the rope and tugged the Infected along, stuffing his backpack full of whatever he could find as they exited the mini-mart. A lot of it wasn’t healthy, and Ignis would be disappointed for sure, but Gladio knew he wouldn’t complain. They had to take what they could get. 

Once he and Iris got out of the shop, it was clear that the other three were struggling. Prompto and Luna were trying to get enough distance between them and the Infected that they could safely open-fire, while Ignis had a dagger in one hand and his polearm in the other, alternating depending on whether the Infected he was fighting was close-range or long-range. 

“Guys, come on!” Gladio shouted. 

Luna looked up, shooting at another Infected as she did so. The bullet hit the Infected, but only in the shoulder. She grimaced and shot again, this time hitting the mark. “You have what we need?” She called.

“Yes!” Iris answered. 

Ignis backflipped— he was _definitely_ showing off— and suddenly he was beside Gladio. His glasses had nearly slipped off his face, and he pocketed them. “Can’t have them breaking,” he muttered. “More Infected just kept coming. They must have known that we…” he cast a sweeping glance around them. “We won’t make it to the hotel if they pursue us all the way there. We need a detour. There are houses along the way. Perhaps we could—” he glanced at Gladio’s arm. “You’re hurt?”

“Just glass,” Gladio replied, and Ignis looked visibly relieved.

“Good. As I was saying, we can hide behind the houses, take an indirect route back to the hotel…” Ignis finished detailing the rest of his plan.

They both knew full well it wasn’t the best plan, but it would work. 

“Lady Luna, Iris, and I will go this way,” Ignis pointed to the left. “You take Prompto and the captured Infected. We need at least one gunslinger with each of us. Regroup at the hotel.”

“Got it.” Gladio tugged the Infected over to the right and crouched down. He was going to sneak along the edge, but the Infected had other plans, tilting its head back and screaming. 

Gladio kicked its shin just to shut it up and called over to Prompto that they were going to have to make a break for it. 

When he got to the hotel, he expected Cor or Nyx to be waiting to lower the rope down, but there was no one. 

“Where are they?” Prompto half-sang, shifting anxiously from foot to foot. He looked over his shoulder at the enclosing Infected. He cupped his hands around his mouth. “Guys!” 

Still nothing. Gladio narrowed his eyes. This wasn’t a good sign. 

Ignis and the others joined the two of them below the balcony. “Gladio?” He asked, tilting his head.

“Something’s wrong,” Gladio replied. An Infected swiped at him and he ducked. “They’re not throwing down the rope.”

“I got this,” Iris replied. She whipped out the hookshot Ignis had given her and shot it up to the balcony. It pulled her to the top and she immediately lowered the rope down to them. 

“Find the others!” Gladio shouted to her. Iris tossed the hookshot back to Ignis and vanished into the hotel. 

Ignis swung his polearm around and stabbed an Infected through the eye. “Luna, take this.” He shoved the hookshot into her hands as Gladio helped Prompto reach the rope Iris had lowered down. 

Once Luna and Prompto were safely up, Gladio tied the rope around the Infected’s waist. “Guys, pull it up!” 

Ignis put his back up against the wall of the hotel, thrusting the polearm out in front of him to keep the Infected from closing in on him. “Quickly, if you will.” He called to them. 

“We’re doing the best we can, Igster!” Prompto’s voice shouted back.

Someone had thrown the hookshot back down, and Gladio couldn’t see who it had been, only that it was flying down to the ground. He tried to catch it, but was just a second too slow and it smashed into the ground, breaking into several pieces. 

He cursed. The captured Infected was still being pulled onto the balcony, and now that Gladio looked up, he wondered if perhaps the hookshot hadn’t been thrown, and had just gotten knocked off the edge while the others were scrambling to hoist the struggling Infected up to the third floor.

Something closed around his wrist and Gladio swung his sword, cleaving through an Infected. He realized a moment after that it was an Infected boy— one that couldn’t have been much older than _Noctis_ — as it stared at him, gurgling as it split in two.

Gladio pressed the back of his hand to his mouth to keep from vomiting as he groped blindly for Ignis’ hand and pulled him away from an Infected that snapped its teeth right where Ignis had just been standing. 

“Climb!” Gladio ordered. “I’m right behind you.” He saw an argument start to form on Ignis’ lips, but thank the gods he didn’t voice them and did what he was told, climbing up the rope. 

Gladio was last, and when he reached the top of the balcony, Noctis was standing in the doorway, his eyes wide.

“They’d been planning something all right,” Noctis told him. “All the Infected that had been standing around the hotel? They were all gone because they went into the hotel. The minute you guys left they started trying to break in through the back staircase. We barricaded the door some more with anything we could find. Dressers, nightstands, one of the unused beds.”

Now that the adrenaline was wearing off, Gladio could see that the room did, in fact, seem a lot emptier than it had been when they had left for the supply run.

Noctis was still talking. “Ignis, guys. It isn’t… we aren’t safe here anymore. We might have to find another place. Cor said it’s only a matter of time before the whole hotel is overrun. We’re—” his voice cracked. “We’re screwed.”

Prompto crossed the room and grabbed Noctis’ shoulders with his hands. “Dude, no,” he assured him. “We got supplies. We’ve got the ropes. They have to break through two barricaded doors. We got this. It’ll be okay.”

Noctis was staring at Prompto now. Even from where Gladio was standing, he could see they were both teary-eyed. Gladio took a brief moment to check over his arm where the Infected had grabbed him, breathing a heavy sigh of relief that there were no scratches. 

“The hookshot is broken,” Ignis said, grabbing everyone’s attention. “We’ll have to be more vigilant. Perhaps we should station two people on watch at night from now on, rather than one. But the others are right. The Infected had several of their kind stationed at the mart today. Which means they’re trying to cut us off. It’s only a matter of time before they succeed. I’m afraid Lestallum is no longer the safest place for us.”

“But then— where do we go?” Prompto asked. “There’s no one on the radio. There’s no one coming to save us. No one to wipe out the Infected, or cure them, except us. We’re our only hope. That… That’s honestly terrifying.”

Gladio grabbed the rope of the Infected they’d captured, showing it to Noctis. “I’d better take him to Aranea,” he said. “Let’s just hope she’s made progress on her cure.”

Prompto’s question weighed heavily on his mind as he brought the Infected to the room where they had kept Ardyn’s chained. They’d gotten water this time, but what about next time? The Infected had planned this, so what was next?

“Any luck with the testing on the third Infected?” Gladio asked Aranea on his way back to his room. 

She sighed. “No. Didn’t do a damn thing. I wonder if I’m going about this the wrong way,” she admitted. “Or perhaps there really is no way to save the Infected. Maybe they’re just… once they’re Infected… maybe it really is hopeless. Maybe I’ve ended the world.”

***

Dinner that night was a largely silent affair. Prompto and Noctis sat beside each other, their knees touching, and every once in a while Iris would start talking about their supply run again and all the cool moves that she and Gladio had pulled off today. 

Gladio gave her encouraging smiles whenever she brought up his name, but he felt anything but cheerful.

“Your arm,” Ignis said to Gladio, swallowing his last bite of dinner. “I saw the Infected grab you. Were you hurt?”

“One almost got you, too,” Gladio told him. “But no. I’m fine. No bites or scratches. This is just from the glass,” he said, holding his arm up so Ignis could take a look at it.

Ignis nodded. He pulled his glasses back out from his breast pocket and fixed them back on his face. “Aranea, if I may give you a hand tomorrow? There are a few suggestions I have that might assist you in your endeavors.”

Aranea nodded. “Sure. I’ll take anything I can get at this point.” 

Once the four of them were in their room for the night, Noctis settled on the edge of Gladio and Ignis’ bed and said, “I told Luna that I’m in love with Prompto. That's one I things I talked to her about.”

Ignis blinked in surprise, and Gladio was sure he wore a similar expression. He raised an eyebrow and glanced between Noctis and Prompto, who had turned bright pink. “And?”

Noctis bit his lip. Shrugged. “She’s… I guess she’s okay with it? She gave me her blessing. She said she still loves me, but that she just wants me to be happy. And I guess— I don’t know. I love her, too. But not like… not like that. Not anymore.”

“But you did?” Ignis prompted. 

Noctis nodded. “When I was recovering in Tenebrae. We spent so much time together, and she was everything I wanted to be. Smart, brave, kind… and yeah. I really loved her. But that was back then. We hadn’t seen each other in twelve years. I mean like, I still love her. I’m just not… I don’t know. _In_ love. With her.” He took a deep breath. 

Prompto squeezed his hand, urging Noctis to continue.

“Marrying Luna was mostly a political thing. I guess… sometimes I don’t want to be the Crown Prince. I just wanna be Noct, and that’s how I feel with Prompto. And I mean, at first we were just best friends, but then I realized that the more I got to know him, the more I kinda wanted to kiss him.” He rubbed his neck and let out a nervous laugh.

Gladio scrunched up his face. “TMI,” he teased. 

Noctis rolled his eyes. “Pot, kettle. But, anyway. Since you guys told me about you two being a thing, I thought we’d reciprocate.”

“So you’re together?” Ignis asked. “You and Prompto?”

“I kissed him again,” Noctis admitted. 

Prompto nodded but didn’t add anything, so Noctis continued: “When you guys all got back from the supply run. I asked Luna about it a few days ago, and I was just running on pure adrenaline from fighting off the Infected that were trying to break in, and I…” he quirked a smile. “Yeah. I guess we’re boyfriends.”

“Hm. ’Bout time,” Gladio said. 

Prompto threw a pillow at him.

Gladio caught it, and Prompto started laughing, and then because Prompto had such an infectious laugh, Gladio started laughing too, and before long, Noctis joined in, and then Ignis, soft chuckles behind gloved hands. 

Somewhere along the line, Gladio realized that if he weren’t laughing, he’d probably cry. With all the death and stress, they were probably _all_ seconds away from crying. Or screaming. Or both. So he kept on laughing and swiped a pillow off of his own bed so he could chuck it at the two across from him. The pillow hit Noctis in the face. 

“Dumbass.” Noctis snorted from behind the pillow. 

Prompto was the first to cross that line between laughing and crying, tears beginning to stream down his face. “Guys, guys,” he said softly. “Can we take another picture?”


	24. Chapter 24

“That was good,” Cor said, watching Ignis pin Gladio to the ground, straddling his waist, his daggers positioned expertly near Gladio’s throat. “Now again.”

Ignis looked _good_ like that. Gladio was already hot and sweaty enough from training so hard, and then Iggy had to be looking at him the way he was. 

He was about to comment on it, but Ignis climbed off of him, sweat glistening on his forehead as he extended a hand to help Gladio back to his feet. 

Pulse racing, Gladio took Ignis’ offered hand. “How long is Cor gonna make us do this?”

Ignis smirked at him. “Only until you win,” he quipped. 

“I would have already won, but you play dirty,” Gladio shot back. He swung his greatsword, but Ignis backflipped out of the way and Gladio’s sword echoed off the ground. He growled under his breath.

Cor’s voice echoed across the room, commanding and stern: “He does. So do the Infected.”

Touché. “But they don’t have half the training Iggy and I do.” It was wasting breath to talk, and Ignis was clearly already five steps ahead as Gladio set his sights on him and swung his sword again. He clenched his teeth, letting out a frustrated growl as Ignis side-stepped his next two attacks. 

_Damn_. He’d have to try something else then. Instead of rearing back and trying to hit harder, Gladio switched it up. He struck again— a short swipe but a fast one.

It clipped Ignis’ leg, and he stumbled. 

Gladio used that brief pause to vanish his greatsword, tackle Ignis to the ground, and summon his weapon again. “Guess I can play dirty too,” he said, playing into all the taunting Ignis had thrown his way throughout the whole training session.

“Good job, Gladiolus. Ignis,” Cor praised. “Do you want another round, or should we call it?”

“I hate to break this up, but you need to call it.” Nyx spoke from the doorway, and the three of them looked over toward where he was leaning against the doorframe. “But I saw that last fight there, Gladio. Think you could beat me and Ignis together?”

Gladio raised an eyebrow. “I’m not one to back down from a challenge.”

Nyx laughed. “Good. I’ll hold you to that. Another time, though. Aranea could use Ignis’ help with some of those ideas he was telling her about yesterday.” He turned to Ignis. “Sent me to fetch you. Could she borrow you?”

“Certainly,” Ignis vanished his weapons, casting Gladio an apologetic look. “We can train again soon. It’s quite a challenge against someone of your strength and stature.”

Gladio laughed. “Right, but now I’m all hot and bothered. You can’t just leave me like this.”

Ignis eyed Gladio up and down, a smirk on his face. He stepped over to Gladio, and leaned up to whisper in his ear: “Ah, well, I’ll be sure to make it up to you tonight.” 

The comment alone only made Gladio even more flustered. “Can’t wait.” He caught Ignis’ hand for the briefest of moments before Nyx shuffled him out of the room, leaving Gladio and Cor behind in the training room. 

Gladio grabbed a towel and ran it over his face. 

“You did well, Gladiolus,” Cor said. “Ignis is a formidable opponent with a fighting style that differs significantly from yours. And yet you managed to hold your own quite well. I’d expect nothing less; We’ve trained you both well over the years.”

“I know how he thinks,” Gladio replied. “He already knows what I’m gonna do even before I do it, so instead of followin’ through with the attack he predicted, I just— switch it up. Catch him by surprise.”

Cor nodded. “Good thinking.” He glanced toward the open door and then back at Gladio. “Do you want me to finish up with your training?”

“I’m good,” Gladio replied. “Might want to see if Iris is interested, though. She’d jump at the chance.” He propped his greatsword up against the wall. “Hey. Can I ask you something?”

Cor’s expression didn’t change, but he leaned back against the wall and uncrossed his arms from over his chest. “What?”

Gladio took a deep breath. “My dad. Would he… do you think he’d be okay with Iris doing all this? I know we’re supposed to kill these things. Whatever it takes to survive. But she… the other day, she was killing all these Infected, and she didn’t even bat an eye. She was— excited, even. It’s a side of her that I didn’t think she had.”

Cor listened quietly. He nodded. “I know you’re concerned,” he said. “Clarus was always very careful— very duty-bound. He took his job seriously and though he was never one to hesitate, he never gloated about those he killed. Between the two of us, I was the reckless one. The hot-head. I enjoyed fighting things, loved the thrill of besting creatures everyone told me I couldn’t. So I ask you: do you think I’m a bad guy for it?”

“No,” Gladio replied. 

“Then you’ve answered your own question. You’re much like your father. You take your duty to heart. It’s everything you want to be. You want to protect, and if you have to kill for it, you will, even if you don’t like. I wanted to protect, too, but in my own way. I protect by fighting, Clarus protected by defending. I think Iris is a lot like me. Doesn’t make her wrong, just makes her methods a little different. Might get a few more scars that way, but,” he shrugged. “I’m glad she isn’t afraid of them. Clarus would be, too. I know he’d be proud of both of you.”

Gladio nodded. “It helps hearin’ it from you, as someone who knew him when he was my age.”

“That I most certainly did,” Cor said. “We were a handful, I assure you. Mostly me, but your father wasn’t all as collected as he wanted you all to believe.”

“I’m sure of it.” Gladio tossed away the towel. He could really use a shower right about now, but with how little water they’d gathered lately, he might just have to splash some on his face and call it good. He pulled off his shirt and did a few more stretches to wind down from the training session. It wasn’t much, but he wanted to make sure he was in as good a condition as possible. 

Cor spotted him, pulling Gladio back to his feet once he was all done. 

“You think we’ll find a cure for this thing?” Gladio asked. “It isn’t looking good. And I don’t suppose you’ve heard anything on the radio either?”

“Just silence,” Cor admitted. “Don’t even know if the thing even still works. We can’t stay here though, it’s not safe. Never was, really, but we just have to figure out where to go. Nyx and I can go out there tomorrow and see if we can find a house or something.”

“Be careful if Ardyn is out there,” Gladio warned. “Wouldn’t want to run into him.”

Cor gave him a small smile. “He talks big, but I could take him in a fight.”

“As long as he doesn’t have his Infected to threaten us with,” Gladio replied. “Just. Be careful.”

“You’re telling me,” Cor raised an eyebrow at Gladio, amused. “I better help Iris with some training.”

Gladio nodded. “Surprised she isn’t waiting in the doorway already.”

Iris’ head popped around the corner. “Did someone say my name?”

“And there she is.” Gladio laughed and waved at Cor. “You know us too well.”

“I did grow up with your father,” Cor retorted. He waved Iris in, and Gladio picked his sword up from where he’d propped it up against the wall and returned it to the armiger. 

“Guess I’ll leave you to it,” Gladio said. He clapped her on the shoulder. “Go show him what we can do,” he told Iris, and left the training room, only to crash— quite literally— into Ravus. 

The man recoiled as if he’d been hit, his mouth twisting into a scowl. “Gladiolus Amicitia.”

Gladio frowned back at him. “Ravus.”

“It’s _High Commander_ Ravus.”

“Is it?” Gladio raised his eyebrow. “Last I heard, you ain’t got an army to lead anymore, ‘High Commander’.” He met Ravus’ eyes, threatening him to make another move. “We wouldn’t be in this mess if it weren’t for Niflheim.”

“And it is someone from Niflheim who is going to right those wrongs,” Ravus replied. “Commodore Highwind has been working tirelessly on her cure. She’s owning up to her mistakes.” He sneered. “Something _Lucis_ has never done.”

“Oh, we own up to things all right,” Gladio snapped. “But the way I see it, we never fucked up bad enough to wipe out half of Eos in a single night.”

He wasn’t sure who threw the first punch. One minute he was staring Ravus down, the next they were both at each other’s throats. Gladio managed to get in a hefty punch, while he felt the pain from Ravus’ metal arm connect with his face. He was sure his nose was bleeding, could taste the metallic tang in his mouth. 

He grabbed for Ravus again, this time gripping his metal arm and twisting it as much as he could. It clicked and sparked, and Gladio wiped the blood from his face. He shoved Ravus away from him and summoned his sword when Luna’s voice cut through the air. “Ravus, enough!” 

Ravus reeled around to look at her, and incredulous expression etched onto his face. “I…” he sputtered. “You’re telling _me_ enough? This imbecile dared to fight me!”

“And yet I am seeing two people throwing the punches.” Lunafreya stepped over to Gladio, gently prying his greatsword away from him. “We mustn’t fight one another. Ravus, you did not need to follow me to Lestallum— you did so of your own accord. It would do you well not to antagonize those who have been kind enough to allow you to stay.”

“If he keeps threatening us like this and proving he’s still an enemy, he’s out,” Gladio glared across to where Ravus was gingerly checking over his metal arm. “I ain’t got time for people who might be a threat to Noct. Or any of us, for that matter.”

Luna propped the greatsword up against the wall and gently reached out to take a look at Ravus’ arm. She glanced back at Gladio. “Forgive my brother,” she said. “But I ask that you do not harm him, he simply does not know where his allegiances should lie.”

Ravus scoffed at Luna, but allowed her to lead him out of the hallway, perhaps to tend to the arm Gladio had damaged. He muttered something about her being on ‘their side’ as he followed.

“Nice going.”

Gladio turned to where Nyx was standing, an unreadable expression on his face. “Yeah, well. He was pissing me off.” He wiped at his nose.

“People’ll do that sometimes,” Nyx said. “But you still probably shouldn’t pull a giant sword on ’em.” He reached into his pocket, handing Gladio a handkerchief. “Take care of that bleeding there.”

He sighed, vanishing his greatsword and taking the handkerchief. “Thanks. I— There’s just something about his face. Gets my blood boiling.”

Nyx laughed, and Gladio felt the tension in the room dissipate some. “I had a guy with an attitude like that. A glaive named Tredd. He was always disrespecting the King and told Libertus and I to go back to Galahd ‘where we belonged’. Wanted to put him in his place every damn time I saw him, but I,” he shook his head. “I knew he just wanted me to take the bait. Though he shouldn’t’ve been trying to bait us in the first place. But shit has a way of comin’ back to you. He was one of the glaives stationed at the party with us that night. Saw his body on the steps of the Citadel the day we got out. Now, I’m not saying you shouldn’t throw down when people threaten the king, but…” he trailed off.

“But I shouldn’t start it, is what you’re saying,” Gladio finished. 

Nyx smiled. “Something like that. But for the record, you were right. The way he _sneers_ like that.”

Gladio threw his head back. “Ha. Glad I’m not the only one.” 

He followed Nyx into the radio room, where he pulled up a chair and watched Nyx pouring over the maps Holly had gotten for them. It seemed like ages ago when they had first scoped out the area, and here they were, doing it again.

“Any luck with finding anything that seems safe?” Gladio asked, leaning closer to get a better look at the map. Nyx had it spread out onto the table, his brow creased as he pointed out a couple places. 

“These are all houses,” he said, “But for one, we don’t know if there are people in there, or if they’re dead or alive. And they’re also pretty close to the plaza.”

Gladio sighed. “Yeah, that place is crawling with Infected.”

“But what places _aren’t_ , at this point?” Nyx asked. He rubbed his forehead. “We always knew Niflheim was doing some horrible things over in those labs of theirs, but we never thought it’d be something like this. It just… goes against everything life is supposed to be.”

“Tell me about it.” Gladio pointed out a spot over near the opposite end of the city. “What about over here?” He asked. “Think we could scope out some of those houses? See if any of them are empty? Or— I know Cindy mentioned that she and Cor ran into a family when they trapped all those Infected in the power plant. Maybe they could do us a solid and let us crash with ’em for a bit.”

He knew Ignis wouldn’t like it, he’d expressed the sentiment of ‘every group for themselves’ several times, but Gladio knew he at least preferred asking a family that was still alive. It definitely beat breaking into a house that could very well be housing a group of Infected.

Nyx seemed to agree. “That might be a good start,” he said. “In the meantime, I’ll run it by Cor and maybe we—”

He was cut off by a loud crashing noise. Nyx was on his feet without even missing a beat. “What was that?” He asked. 

“I don’t—”

Another crash. Gladio locked eyes with Nyx as the smell of smoke wafted through the room. 

“Fire!” Prompto screeched from down the hall. 

“Where’s Noctis?” Gladio shouted. He snatched the radio off its table and thrust it into the armiger as he grabbed the backpack of non-perishables that was closest to him. He threw that into the armiger too, to hell with it being fresh or not, as he hurried out into the hall while Nyx lowered the rope. 

Gladio spotted Noctis racing down the hall and forced him in front of him as several Infected burst through the back door, engulfed in flames as they came barreling toward them.


	25. Chapter 25

Gladio had to trust that the others were behind him as the flames surged and climbed up the walls. He covered his nose and mouth, relieved to see that Noctis was doing the same as he pulled him down to the ground with him. 

“Noct, you’re going to have to warp down.”

Noct nodded. He started to climb up onto the ledge of the balcony, but frowned. “Um, Gladio? We kind of have a problem here.” He said, pointing over the ledge. 

Gladio followed Noctis’ gaze to over the balcony, where several Infected had apparently started to form a ladder. Each of them stood on the other’s shoulders as they hoisted another one up. His stomach dropped. He scanned the area as both his friends and the flaming Infected came racing down the hallway toward their room. 

He pointed to a building. “Over there. You can warp to that rooftop. Now!” 

Noctis wasted no time in doing so. Gladio shouted back over his shoulder at the others. “Stop! stop!” He waved his arms. “Noct’s safe, but we need to find another room. Infected are trying to climb up to the balcony!”

“The fucking Infected are on _fire_ back here!” Aranea called back. “We don’t have time to get into another room!” She drew her weapon and grabbed the other end of the rope. “We gotta tie this to the balcony, can’t hold it this time.” She pulled the rope taught on one of the balcony posts. “Anyone with guns first. Shoot the damn things down as you climb.”

Gladio heard a loud whirring noise, and as he thrust the rope into Prompto’s hands, he spotted Noctis— who’d warped down to the ground from the roof he’d been on. He’d apparently summoned one of Prompto’s machinery weapons from the armiger, and was using that to cut down the Infected closest to the ground, toppling the base of their ‘ladder’ as more scrambled to attack him. 

Cor was the last onto the balcony, and he shoved the door closed as the burning Infected rammed into it, the smell of searing flesh and smoke seeping through around them. 

“Don’t have much time,” Cor said, pressing his back up against the door. “Get down there!” 

Iris climbed down while Lunafreya shot at the Infected from over the balcony. She followed after Iris, reaching the ground and continuing to fire at the horde closing in on them. 

The hotel was very clearly burning now. The flames poured out from the windows of the lower levels, and the Infected that had overtaken the first two floors were racing out of the hotel and collapsing onto the ground, engulfed in flames.

“Hurry it up, I can’t hold them forever!” Cor grunted. Gladio got to his feet and forced his weight against the bedroom door, helping Cor to keep the door shut as more and more Infected barreled into it.

The door splintered. Cracked.

Aranea shoved Ignis toward the rope. “Get down there, Glasses.” 

Ignis started to look back toward Gladio. “I won’t leave until you’re down,” he told him. “I can cover you.”

“Cor can cover me. Go on,” Gladio urged. “Protect Noct. I’ll be fine.”

Ignis frowned, but he knew as well as Gladio that there wasn’t time to stop and think. He grabbed onto the rope and climbed down, Aranea following quickly after him, and then Ravus. The post the rope was tied to broke a little more with every person that climbed down it.

“It’s not gonna hold us, Cor.” Gladio breathed, his voice catching in his throat. Shit. Was this… it?

“It’s gonna hold us. Just you watch.” Cor replied. “Your father would be rollin’ in his grave if he saw this, but we’re gonna do something dangerous. You ready?”

“As long as we act quick.” Gladio shoved his back more forcefully against the door. “What do I need to do?”

Cor frowned. “On the count of three, I’m going to need you to run to the rope. I’ll be right behind you. Slide down as far as we can. When the post breaks, we fucking jump. Gonna get some serious rope burn. We might die anyway.”

“But we’d die doing something badass,” Gladio added. “I like it.”

Cor took a deep breath. “One.” He started. 

“Two,” said Gladio.

“Three.” 

Gladio let go of the door and felt Cor do the same. The burning Infected burst through and into the room as he sprinted toward the rope, grabbed on, and jumped off the balcony. He felt the searing pain in his hands and legs as he gripped onto the rope and slid down.

The rope burn was the least of his worries. 

Above him, Cor had launched himself off the balcony as well, thrusting his hands out to grab the rope and breaking his fall just a foot or so above from where Gladio was. From around them, the burning Infected followed, hurtling down over the edge of the balcony where they hit the ground, one after another. 

The post holding the rope split. 

Gladio let go and rolled, trying to protect his neck and head and anywhere that could seriously injure himself as he fell, the wind getting knocked out of him as he came to a rolling stop. But—besides his hands, which he didn’t even want to _look_ at right now, he was… fine? He had already been significantly closer to the ground than Cor though, who hit harder and from a lot farther up.

Cor groaned in pain, rolling onto his back. Gladio was at side in an instant, kneeling beside him. “You good?” He asked. Which, no, of course he wasn’t, but he needed to know the damage. As it was, Gladio couldn’t get eyes on any of the others, which meant he was going to make damn sure he and Cor stayed safe. 

“Broke my arm, it feels like,” Cor hissed through his teeth. “Gods. Shoulder and ankle hurts, too. Help me up.” He reached his good arm out, and Gladio gripped it tightly, pulling him to his feet, fixing Gladio with a look of steely determination. “But we’re alive.”

“We are,” Gladio affirmed. “I don’t see the others though, so it’s just us.” He summoned his weapon and sliced at an Infected coming toward them, severing its head. “We gotta get out of here before anything else catches on fire.”

“Hotel’s out of our hands,” Cor said. “We need to get as far away from it as possible. Any nearby buildings might be a lost cause if the place continues to burn.” He cradled his broken arm and allowed Gladio to support him as the two of them took cover behind some boxes in an alleyway. 

“I can’t see much of anything,” Gladio whispered, scanning the area. The smoke was obscuring their vision, which meant that even though they had more cover from the Infected, they also couldn’t _see_ those Infected either— perhaps until it was too late. He could hear them, though. Their screeches, the wailing, the clanking of the armored soldiers as they raced through the streets. 

Cor stepped back, drawing his weapon, the pain in his arm and shoulder causing him to wince. “We must be prepared in case we run into some trouble. If something goes wrong, promise me you’ll protect yourself over me. The world needs you Gladiolus, everything I know I’ve taught to you.”

Gladio narrowed his eyes. “It won’t come to that.”

“But it might,” Cor replied, sharply, his ice-blue eyes piercing into Gladio. “Promise me this.”

Gladio turned away. “Okay, but don’t think I’ll let you go that easy. Keep up, old man.”

Cor nodded and straightened up, letting his broken arm fall limply at his side. “Let’s find the others. How are you faring? You must have suffered from a rather severe rope burn.”

Gladio had no time to answer as a figure stumbled its way through the smoke and toward them. “One thing at a time, Marshal. Looks like we’ve got company.” He swung his greatsword at the figure through the smoke, but the figure ducked, and then jumped expertly out of the way when Gladio tried to swing his sword a second time.

The figure rolled, and as they got closer, Gladio could make out long blonde hair as Lunafreya righted herself and fired a gunshot, the bullet whizzing by the two of them as Gladio dropped to the ground. 

“Wait! Watch who you’re shooting!” Gladio growled, “It’s us!” 

Luna paused. “Gladiolus?”

“Yeah,” Gladio replied. “We didn’t see you at first either. Thought you were one of the creatures.”

“Where are the others?” Cor asked. “We could see any of you by the time we reached the ground. Am I correct to assume it’s because you were under attack?”

Lunafreya nodded. “The Infected have scattered us. I believe Ignis and Prompto went after Noctis. Ravus and I were separated. I did not see where the others went, but I could not wait any longer.”

Gladio cursed under his breath. “We should’ve had a backup plan,” he said. “If something like this ever happened. Somewhere to group up.”

“We had not counted on the Infected doing something this calculated,” replied Lunafreya. “We just need to survive until we find the rest of the group.” Her gaze fell upon Cor, and she narrowed her eyes. “You’re hurt.” 

Cor shrugged it off. “Broken arm. Injured shoulder. There’s more to be concerned about now though.” He raised his Katana and thrust it through an Infected that had stumbled through the smoke and into range. “Let’s keep moving.”

Lunafreya cocked her gun and stepped back through the smoke and into the alley adjacent from them, Gladio following with Cor beside him. Even as they moved farther away from the hotel, the air felt heavy and dense, making everything just a little bit harder to see. 

Cor stumbled as Lunafreya dipped down another alley, and Gladio reached down to steady him. “You said it yourself, Cor. Keep moving,” he said, his voice far less harsh than Cor had been. He helped him upright, and Luna paused, glancing the two of them over. 

She hurried back to them, handing Gladio her gun as she knelt down and tore a lengthy piece off from the hem of her dress. “Here, this might help,” she said to Cor. “May I?”

Cor nodded, and Lunafreya wrapped the fabric around Cor’s shoulders, fastening it around his injured arm and tying it off. “This should keep your arm close to your body and prevent your shoulder from further damage. Though I would still very much like to take a look at it once we’re safe.”

“Thank you,” Cor replied. “But I can tend to it once we’re not in immediate danger of dying.”

Lunafreya nodded. Gladio handed her her gun back, and she crossed through the alley and out into the streets. Gladio could hear the snarling and groaning of the Infected as they set their sights on the group and started to charge them. 

From where she was crouched in the alley, Lunafreya pursed her lips, her brows drawing together, and shot two Infected through the head with successive shots. 

“Nice,” Gladio complimented. He and Cor took care of three more, Gladio grimacing as he side-stepped the spurt of blood from the Infected Cor felled, the one he’d hit crumpling at his feet. 

“I wish I did not have to kill them,” Lunafreya admitted. “But I will do everything I can to protect us.”

“Good,” Cor replied. “Us, too.”

Lunafreya met his eyes and nodded. She glanced over Cor’s shoulder and shot another Infected, the bullet ricocheting off its helmet at she fired again. 

“I got this one,” Gladio told her, as he ran at the Infected, his greatsword connecting with the vulnerable neck under its helmet. He cleaved through it, the head tumbling to the ground. 

They made their way down the path in a similar manner, Lunafreya shooting the Infected without armor while Gladio and Cor handled the soldiers.When they turned the corner, Lunafreya froze. Gladio started to tell her to come on and keep moving when he spotted Pryna standing in the middle of the stairs. When the dog saw everyone was looking at her, she wagged her tail and trotted up to Lunafreya. 

She knelt down. “What is it?” She asked, reaching out to pet Pryna, but the dog backed away and ran down an alley, her tail still wagging. “Wait!” Luna called after her. She turned to Gladio and Cor. “We must follow her. I believe she wishes to show me something. She would not be here were it not important.”

Cor grunted. “Keep up with her, then. We’ll be right behind you.”

With a quick nod, Lunafreya readied her gun again and hurried after Pryna. 

Between making sure Cor didn’t fall too far behind and trying to keep tabs on Lunafreya, Gladio was finding it increasingly difficult to keep the Infected at bay. They had to, there was no other option, but he was sweating from the stress and exertion of keeping the Infected off his back while staying aware of seemingly every possible thing in the vicinity that could impede him and Cor from keeping up.

Up ahead, he saw Lunafreya collide with something and stumble. 

“Go to her,” Cor urged. “I’ll be fine. I have no problems with walking.”

Gladio ran over, relieved to see that it had not been an Infected that Lunafreya had crashed into, but Iris and Nyx. 

Iris yelped as she nearly fell backwards. Nyx reaching out a hand to steady her, and she murmured her thanks, smiling with relief when she caught sight of Gladio. 

“Princess!” Nyx exclaimed. “We’re so glad we found you.” His eyes raised to Gladio and Cor just a little farther back and quirked a smile. “And the two of you. Thank the gods.”

“This place was a nightmare _before_ the hotel caught on fire,” Iris said. “Even worse now. We’ve killed more Infected in the last twenty minutes than I thought was even possible. I was worried we’d never find you guys.”

“You killed them?” Gladio asked. 

Iris nodded. “Nyx helped with a few.”

“Did you see Pryna?” Lunafreya asked. “I believe she wished to show me something important. We were following her when we ran into you.”

“Sorry, but no,” Nyx admitted. His eyes widened. “Look out!” He threw himself down to the ground, bringing Iris down with him as a wrench embedded itself in the dirt beside them. 

“Looks like we got company,” Cor said, finally caught up with the rest of them.

Gladio glanced over to see what had undoubtedly been a power plant worker limping toward them. Her left leg was torn to shreds, and Gladio couldn’t tell whether it was skin or pieces of her pant leg as she reached for her tool belt once more, pulling out a hammer. “This one’s probably been around for a while if she’s using tools,” he muttered. “Let’s stop her.”

“Already on it!” Iris exclaimed. In a move that she and Nyx had clearly practiced, he swung her around, building up speed and then launched her at the Infected. Iris raised her sword and brought it down through the woman’s skull. 

“Luna, take the one on the left!” Gladio shouted. “Cor!” He didn’t need to give any further instructions; they both knew what to do. Gladio crouched down and swung his sword as Cor hopped onto his back, using the leverage to launch off and bring his Katana down to kill the Infected on the right as Luna fired at the one on the left, the bullet lodging itself into the creature’s arm as it shook and snarled and started to charge her. 

Nyx threw himself between the Infected and Luna, slicing through the Infected man’s neck as he sputtered and grabbed at his neck. Nyx used the momentary distraction to shove one of his kukris through its head. 

Luna took a step back. “Thank you,” she breathed. 

Nyx grinned. “No problem, Princess.”

A bark alerted Gladio and the others to Pryna’s presence once more. The dog slipped out from behind a stack of boxes and approached Lunafreya, her tail tucked between her legs. 

“What is it, dear?” Luna asked. She turned to Gladio. “I may not be fully aware of my surroundings while I see what she has to show me.”

Gladio already knew what she was going to ask. “Don’t worry,” he assured her. “We got your back. See what Pryna’s got to say.”

Lunafreya nodded and pressed her forehead to Pryna’s. 

Gladio turned to Cor, Nyx, and Iris. “Let’s handle these guys,” he said, and catching Iris’ worried expression, elbowed an Infected creeping up behind him and then wheeled around and sliced it down the middle. 

They took turns dispatching the group of Infected coming toward them, until Lunafreya cried out and sat backward, pulling away from Pryna. 

“What is it?” Gladio asked. 

Lunafreya turned to look at them, the initial panic on her face giving way to determination as she took in a deep breath. “Pryna has shown me a vision. There is a place we can go to, though it is not without sacrifice. Though I fear…” she glanced up to them with resolve. “We must find Noctis and the others. We cannot delay.”

Nyx offered her a hand, and she took it, getting to her feet and brushing off her dress. “I have made my decision. You must promise me that you will not let Ravus interfere. He will try to stop me, but I have seen what will happen if he does. I fear none of us will survive today unless I do this.”

Nyx lowered his kukris. “Princess?” He asked, frowning. “What are you…?”

Lunafreya turned away, shaking her head. “There is no time to explain. Just promise me.”

“I promise,” Iris said. “I won’t let him.”

Lunafreya smiled sadly. “Thank you. Please follow me, I think I know where Noctis might be.” She led the group of them through the winding alleys to a back corner, a bit too close to the power plant for Gladio’s liking but anywhere was better than being close to the hotel. 

Sure enough, he could see the blue flash of Noctis’ warp-strike up ahead. It seemed like Noct had found the others— or perhaps they’d found him; Gladio knew Ignis wouldn’t have let him out of his sight for long. Noctis was warping frantically from door to door, testing the handles to see if any would open. 

“Noctis, stop!” Luna shouted, reaching him just as Noctis grabbed the handle of the door closest to him and pulled it open. Just inside the doorway, an Infected woman stood watching them with a knife in her hand, a young daughter sitting at the table. 

Luna grabbed Noctis and pulled him back just as the woman lunged for him. Her knife just barely missed Noctis’ torso as Luna pulled him out of range of the weapon, the two of them falling heavily to the ground. Luna’s gun clattered onto the pavement to her left as she wrapped an arm protectively around the prince. 

Breathing heavily, she turned to Gladio and the others. “The third door across the road— Pryna showed me that one was safe! Hurry!” She pulled Noctis closer to her and whispered something into his ear before she pushed him in the direction of the safe house. 

Noctis took off running, and when Gladio cast a sweeping glance around them, he realized that a horde of Infected had gathered behind Nyx and Iris. “Shit,” he cursed under his breath. The Infected had all gathered around, surrounding them from most sides, but made no move to attack.

They just… stood there. Watching.

Gladio locked eyes with Ignis, the vow to protect Noctis ringing through both of their heads as they booked it over to the prince, flanking him on either side. 

Their movements spurred the Infected into action. They converged upon Iris and Nyx, who were trying desperately to fight them off but were severely outnumbered. 

Gladio could see Noctis look back toward Iris. “They’re not gonna make it unless we do something!” He called. “We have to help them fight the Infected.”

“Noct, you’re our priority,” Ignis replied. “Nyx and Iris must fend for themselves.”

Noctis clearly didn’t like that answer. He stopped running, set his jaw and knit his brows together. “Sorry, guys,” he said to Ignis and Gladio, and then warped out of their reach and back toward the thick of the battle. 

“Noct!” Prompto exclaimed. He tried to grab Noctis to keep him from the battle, but he warped another time before Prompto could stop him, this time appearing beside Iris.

“I’ve never tried this before,” Noctis shouted to Iris over the sounds of screaming Infected, and wrapped an arm around her. “I hope it works.” He glanced over at Nyx. “We can’t keep fighting them. There are too many. We need to run— try and make it to that house!”

Nyx nodded. Noctis and Iris warped out of sight as the Infected closed in on the space they were just in. 

Noctis reappeared next to Gladio again, reeling from the effort of warping two people. He dropped Iris and tried to warp again, but stumbled. 

Gladio thrust his arm out to keep Noctis from collapsing. “You exhausted your warping!” He shouted at him. “What were you _thinking_?”

“I was saving your sister!” Noctis shouted back, righting himself. 

Nyx and Cor reached them on either side, slicing at some Infected, shoving others as far away as possible, while Aranea brought up the rear and tried to stab at any that got too close.

“People of Lestallum!” Lunafreya’s voice rang out through the chaos, above the screams of Gladio’s group and the shrieking of the Infected. “It is I you want,” she continued. She fired a single shot at one Infected woman, the bullet tearing through her jaw and cheek. “Come get me.”

With the Infected’s attention successfully diverted, Gladio pulled open the door of the safe house and forced an exhausted Noctis and a shaking Iris inside as the others began to follow. 

Ravus stopped in the doorway, turning as he heard Luna call out. His eyes widened. “Lunafreya—” he began, his voice laced with panic. “What are you doing? You can’t… Lunafreya!”

The Infected woman that Noctis had released from the other house approached Lunafreya, as if transfixed, and sunk its teeth into her shoulder. Another came over and ripped into her arm. 

“ _Lunafreya_!” Ravus tore through the Infected, cutting through several of them between the house and the ones attacking Lunafreya as Iris raced back outside, running over and grabbing Ravus around the middle.

“Please, stop!” Iris cried. “I promised her I’d stop you! It’s too late!” 

“Get away from me!” Ravus spat, shoving Iris off of him. 

Gladio gathered her protectively in his arms as an Infected bit down on Ravus’ metal arm. He snatched his arm back and regarded the Infected that had tried to bite him as Nyx grabbed Ravus and shoved him through the doors of the house and, with Ignis and Prompto’s help, barricaded the front door while the Infected were distracted.

Ravus was shaking, seething, as he collapsed near the door. “How could you?” He snarled. “How could you just leave her? She’s the only family I have left and you let her die.” He heaved in a breath. “I should _never_ have trusted you!”

“Luna saved us,” Noctis said, his voice catching. “I don’t know how she did it. But she’s given us a chance. None of the Infected saw us run in here; they were all watching her.”

Iris stared at her hands. “I think she knew this would happen. She said something about Pryna giving her a vision… and something about a sacrifice. She told us we had to stop you or everyone would die here. Would you have wanted that? It has to mean something to you that she wanted to give us a chance.”

“I— yes. No,” Ravus said, shoulders trembling. “Everything I did was for her. To protect her. To see her smile. If she hated me in the interim, I could handle it. As long as it kept her safe. And now, you’ve…” he reared around, drawing his sword and pointing it at Noctis. “You took that from her. You took her from _me_!”

Gladio and Ignis were between Noctis and Ravus in an instant. 

“Noct ain’t got nothing to do with this!” Gladio narrowed his eyes, puffing out his chest in a way that he hoped was at least a little threatening. “You’re not going to lay a hand on him.”

“You will have to go through us first,” Ignis added. “I will say I’m rather adept with my daggers. I don’t think you’d want a demonstration.”

Ravus brought his sword down, clashing loudly against Ignis’ daggers. “I will kill all of you if it means avenging my sister!”

“But to what point?” Ignis shot back. “Nothing will bring her back, but you can at least honor her by protecting those she died for. She wouldn’t want this.”

“What do you know of what she would want?” Ravus raised his sword again, once more striking down against Ignis’ daggers. 

Noctis raced past Gladio and tackled Ravus, catching him by surprise as his sword clattered to the ground. “Enough!” He screamed. “I should have done more! I should have been there to protect her! I shouldn’t have needed protecting in the first place. But Luna… she knew.” He slammed a fist against the ground next to Ravus, wiping away tears before they hit Ravus’ chest. “She must have… when she saw Pryna. She must have decided she wasn’t going to make it to the house. But if she hadn’t done what she did, those Infected would have all seen us come in this house, and they would have followed us. We all would have died.”

“This world is nothing without her,” Ravus was still struggling against Noctis, but weakly. He could have easily thrown Noctis off if he really tried, but instead he leaned back against the floorboards, staring up at the ceiling. “I shouldn’t be the one who remains alive. After all I’ve done to bring darkness into this world. A darkness that has extinguished even my dear sister’s light.”

Noctis bowed his head. His voice trembled. “I’m sorry. I loved her too.”

Ravus’ eyes flashed, and he shoved Noctis off of him. “You _abandoned_ her! All those years ago! You and your selfish father. We meant nothing to you. You left us to die!”

Gladio stepped in again, grabbing Noctis and standing protectively in front of him, Ignis and Prompto on either side. “Listen, Ravus. We’d rather not fight you, but we will if you try to threaten Noct.”

“Gladio,” Noctis murmured, a quiet warning. 

Gladio turned to look at him, and then over at the others, who watched anxiously from the stairwell. The message was clear; Ravus would get nowhere if he tried to harm Noctis. Ignis put a hand on Gladio’s shoulder, and the two stepped aside. Prompto lingered next to Noctis as he knelt down beside Ravus. 

“My father may have left you back then, but I won’t. I want to restore Lucis, and I’d like you with me. You probably never knew, but I did keep in touch with Luna when she was in Tenebrae. She cared about you, too. She talked a lot about you in our messages to each other. I know having you by our side is something she’d want. Will you help me?” Noctis asked. He extended a hand to Ravus. 

Ravus glanced at Noctis, and then at Gladio and the others standing behind him. He sneered. “I know what _she_ would want,” he spat. “But no one’s ever asked me what _I_ want. And I want to be with my family.” He raised his sword, turning it upon himself.

Aranea strode across the room and wrenched Ravus’ sword from his grasp. “No one else is dying today, Ravus.”

Ravus stared at her. “I have nothing left to live for,” he muttered. He glared at all of them, getting to his feet and shoving past Aranea as he stomped up the stairs, the floorboards creaking under his boots. 

Aranea pressed a hand to her forehead. “Glasses and I managed to grab a lot of the stuff from my setup in the hotel,” she said. “But we still lost quite a bit, so there’s been a bit of a setback with our progress. I can set up a room upstairs, if someone will come with me to make sure the rest of the house is safe.”

“I’ll do it,” Noctis said, getting to his feet. “Besides. There’s something I want to talk to Ravus about.”

“Not alone, you won’t—” Gladio started, but Noctis cut him off. 

“I have to. I know none of you trust him, but he… you all saw him. He’s outnumbered. He’s not going to try anything. He’s lost everything. I want him to be able to trust us.”

Gladio crossed his arms. “Yeah, you trust him until he stabs you the moment you two are out of sight.”

Ignis put a hand on Gladio’s shoulder. “I don’t believe he will. I understand, Noct. But know that if there’s any trouble, we will be at your side.”

Noctis nodded. “Will do. Aranea, after you?”

As the two headed up the stairs, Ignis turned to Cor. “Now, Gladio, I’ve seen what condition your hands are in. Let me see. And Marshal? I’d like to take a look at your arm.”


	26. Chapter 26

While Ignis tended to Cor’s arm, Gladio and Nyx checked out the rest of the first floor. There wasn’t much to see. Thankfully, as Luna had told them, the house appeared to be empty. 

“There’s a bedroom over here,” Nyx said, pointing his thumb at a room at the back of the house. “Might be some more upstairs.”

Gladio nodded, peering into the room nearest to him. A bathroom, it looked like. He checked the cabinets, relieved to see a box of bandages and some painkillers. Might come in handy, so he pocketed them both. Towards the back, he spotted what looked like some kind of antibiotic. He pocketed that as well— Ignis might be able to use them, and now that he really got a good look at his hands, they truly looked terrible. 

With a grimace, he grabbed one of the hand towels from beside the sink and wiped as much blood off his hands as he could. It looked more painful than it felt, anyway. He could still hold a weapon, which was the most important part. He just didn’t want Ignis to worry; he had enough on his plate without having to handle Gladio’s rope burn as well. 

“Anything over there?” Called Nyx, jolting Gladio back to attention.

He patted his pocket. “Some first aid stuff. Painkillers and shit. Doesn’t look expired.”

“Thank the gods,” Nyx said, but he looked grim. “We lucked out with this house, didn’t we?”

Gladio nodded, offering Nyx a grim smile of his own. “What about you? Any luck in the other rooms?”

Nyx shrugged. “Not a whole lot beyond the bedroom. Some books, mainly. Not much we could use in there. There are probably some more bedrooms upstairs; we can group up accordingly, and anyone left can crash on the couch, perhaps,” he gestured to the living room area. “Looks comfortable enough.”

Besides the living room, there was the kitchen as well, with four chairs around the table. Gladio didn’t really think they’d use the kitchen table much though— it seemed much too… casual. And this situation was anything but. 

From upstairs, Gladio heard shuffling, and then Noctis, Aranea, and Ravus returned down the stairs. “It’s all clear,” Noctis said. He looked sullen, his eyes red— obviously he’d been crying. When he saw Gladio looking at him, he pressed the heel of his palm to his eyes and turned away. “Three rooms, one was a master with a bathroom. But like. Whatever. And an office. Some linen closets.”

Nyx filled them in on the rooms he and Gladio had discovered while Ignis called Gladio over where he was seated at the table to take a look at his hands. 

He peeled off the hand towels as he approached Ignis. He’d hoped that some of the blood would wipe off, but to his frustration, his fingers were still red and angry where the skin had come off. He closed his hands. “It’s fine. I’ll just keep them wrapped.”

Ignis took his hands in his own, gently prying the fingers open as he studied the abrasions. “It’s not,” he chided. “Enough of that. We can’t risk it getting infected. I don’t have the right supplies to treat this; I didn’t for Cor, either. But I’ll do my best and pray everything heals.”

“About that,” Gladio said, reaching into his pocket and producing the items he’d found in the bathroom. “Don’t know if these’ll help, but I figured you might as well have them just in case.”

Ignis eyed them, nodding approvingly. “Good. I believe those will come in handy. Not quite everything I’d need, especially for injuries like Cor’s, but it’s far better than nothing. Thank you, Gladio.”

Ravus shifted, clearing his throat. “If I may.”

“What?” Gladio snapped. He might not have tried anything to hurt Noct upstairs, but that didn’t mean he was in the clear. As far as Gladio was concerned, he still wasn’t trustworthy. 

“I might know where to find more medical supplies. But you will not like it. Ardyn was a healer for a time, as he told you. He brought several supplies along from the base with him, and if it’s still there, we can make use of it. Treat the arm, the hands, anything that needs medical attention. If you know what you’re doing, that is.” He raised an eyebrow at Ignis. 

“I know how to do it in theory,” Ignis replied. “I’ve never actually had to treat anyone back in Insomnia, but I observed the procedures when Noct suffered his injury in Tenebrae. I’ve done innumerable amounts of research, so theoretically, I know what I have to do. I’ve just never put that knowledge to the test.”

Ravus scoffed. “We never should have cast Ardyn out.”

“He killed Cindy!” Prompto shouted. “He might’ve killed more of us if he got the chance.”

“He only killed her to prove a point,” Ravus retorted. “If she hadn’t been infected, she would not have turned.”

“No,” Noctis replied, standing up and glaring at Ravus. “She’d just be dead. But she got that anyway.”

“Dwelling on the past ain’t gonna do us any good,” Gladio muttered. “Cindy’s gone. Ardyn’s out. So what’re we gonna do about it?”

“We have to go out to the airship,” Nyx said. “See if we can find those supplies in there. But it’ll be dangerous. That place is crawling with Infected.”

“Every place is crawling with Infected,” Cor pointed out. “We just have to be smart about it. In and out.”

“Marshal, with all due respect, you cannot come with us,” Ignis said, glancing over the label of the painkillers. “Not with your arm in the condition it is. If the Infected attack— which they will, you are not in any condition to fight.”

Cor frowned. “I’d be fine.”

“That’s not a risk we’re willing to take,” Ignis said. “The last thing we need is another senseless death. Aranea, did you have any luck in finding a room upstairs? I can assist you in setting up what we were able to grab from the hotel. Gladiolus, would you mind securing the doors and making sure all the windows are locked?”

Aranea nodded. “I was.”

“Got it,” Gladio said. 

Nyx got to his feet. “I’ll help him,” he offered, as the two of them made the rounds around the house and locked everything that wasn’t already. 

“We can tackle the airship tomorrow,” Ignis continued. “I know we’re losing precious time by waiting, but I can use what supplies I have here with me now, and we can take stock of what we still have from the hotel. It will give us a better idea of what we need.”

Gladio knew what Ignis was really suggesting— they needed time to grieve tonight. All of them, but Noctis and Ravus especially. They could refocus on the task tomorrow, but they were all reeling from the shock of everything that had happened today. It wouldn’t be wise to just run back out there to try and get to the airship. He nodded. “Fair enough.”

“I can go, too,” Iris offered. “I can fight really well now. I’ve proven myself more times than I can count.”

_They had too many people going already_ , Gladio thought. _Adding Iris would just complicate things._ But Iris didn’t look like she was going to let him argue. “We’ll figure it out,” he said, shooting Iris a look that he hoped communicated how unlikely it would be. “Better to have fewer people to look out for.”

“Well, it’s a good thing I can look out for myself then,” Iris retorted. She raised an eyebrow at Gladio over the table. “I’m going. You never let me go when it matters. If anyone should stay, it’s Noct. He’s the prince—er— king? And it’s dangerous out there.”

“No.” Noctis clenched his fists at his sides. “I’m not hiding here while all of you risk your lives for me. While all of you _die_ for me. If Ravus is taking us out there, I’m going, too.”

“…Very well,” Ignis said. He turned to Aranea. “Shall we set up your lab?”

***

Of the bedrooms, there were three upstairs. One of them appeared to have perhaps been an older child’s room, complete with a bunk bed that Prompto enthusiastically claimed, along with Noctis. Aranea took the other bedroom, and while Ignis helped her unpack their supplies, Gladio claimed the master bedroom for himself and Ignis. 

Which left the bedroom downstairs, and the couches. Knowing Cor and Nyx, they would let Iris take the room, and barring any complaints from Ravus, those three would take turns keeping watch and sleeping on the couches.

He didn’t see much of Noctis, but of what he did see, Noct was exhausted. Prickly. No surprises there, the day had been awful for all of them. Prompto was less sulky, but just as upset. Gladio caught him crying several times, to which Prompto rubbed at his eyes and eventually excused himself to retire early. 

Gladio followed suit, and presumably so did the others. Ignis was still helping Aranea when Gladio popped in to tell them he was turning in. 

“I’ll be but a moment,” Ignis replied, as Gladio closed the door and returned to the room he’d claimed. It was decently sized— the place had clearly been a family home. Newly abandoned, it looked like. Either the family that had lived here died, or they’d managed to get out of Lestallum. Gladio really hoped it was the latter. Still, it felt strange living in a house that he knew had been lived in until recently. 

He found spare sheets in the closet, and he changed them, tossing the old ones off to the side. They might not have running water, but at least they could have clean sheets. He stripped down a bit and sat on the bed, the room unfamiliar but not unpleasant. He knew it was wishful thinking to hope the Infected would continue to be unaware that there were living people in this house, but they at least could enjoy one day of it. 

The door creaked open nearly an hour later, and Gladio heard Ignis enter the room. “Nice place,” he said aloud, craning his neck to look at Ignis as he approached. “Thanks to Luna.”

“Yes, well,” Ignis said, by agreement. “Her loss is a difficult one for us to recover from. Noctis and Ravus in particular, but Prompto, too. They got on rather well.”

“She knew what she was doing.” Still, that fact didn’t make it any easier. “Do you think Ravus is telling the truth about the first-aid kit? Or supplies?”

“There’s no reason for him to lie about it.” Ignis wasted little time undressing as well, folding his clothes over the arm of the nearby chair. Perhaps it wasn’t unwise to undress, especially if they needed to make another quick getaway, but gods, they needed at least some form of cleanliness, seeing that they didn’t exactly have a change of clothes. 

“Changed the sheets for you,” Gladio said, patting the bed. “Figured we could have that going for us at least.”

“Much obliged,” Ignis sighed, flopping down onto the bed, his eyes fixed upon the ceiling. “I do miss when the most harrowing part of the day was waking Noct up in time for school.”

“Tell me about it,” Gladio rubbed his temple. He wanted to say more— about how he missed training with Noctis, how he missed home so much it hurt. How he missed his _dad_ , but none of that would change anything. They all missed people. 

Ignis was talking again. “… perhaps get some actual decent first-aid. I know you don’t want to bring Iris, but she could be a big help to us.”

Gladio groaned. “She isn’t gonna take no for an answer. It just seems like a lot of us. Us four, plus Iris and Ravus? Just for a trip to the airship?”

“I don’t think any of us will take lightly to being left behind,” Ignis replied. He took his glasses off and set them on the nightstand. “Did you set the radio up?”

“Yeah.” There wasn’t really a point though; it sat in silence on the table like it had in the hotel. Gladio didn’t know who any of them expected to hear from, but perhaps it was just the idea of it that brought them the most comfort. He reached over, lacing his fingers through Ignis’. 

They could stay like that forever if the world let them. Gladio would be the last one to complain about it. Ignis was right though, there was probably no talking Iris out of going to the airship, but he just… it was so many people, and he was still rather wary of Ravus, especially now that Luna wasn’t there to talk them out of killing each other. 

“So we go out tomorrow, get the supplies from the airship, settle down for a few days while we can see what we can do about a cure?”

Ignis nodded. 

Gladio lifted their entwined hands, pressing a gentle kiss to Ignis’ knuckles, and then plopped down beside him. “I… Haven’t been sleeping so well lately,” he admitted, staring up at the ceiling. “Too much going on, I guess. Dad always said I should get a full night’s rest to be on top of my game. Shield’s duty, and all that. Just doesn’t happen.”

Ignis was quiet for a moment. “I’m not surprised. One disaster after another. I haven’t exactly gotten much rest myself. But I don’t suppose tonight will bring respite either.” 

He didn’t need to say so, Gladio could tell he was exhausted. The way his accent was— sleepy, less enunciated, heavier with certain words. He leaned into Ignis. “Guess we just have to wish for the best tomorrow.”

“It’s all we can do for now.”

***

Gladio had a feeling that everyone had slept just as poorly as he had last night. He’d jolted awake several times— he could’ve _sworn_ someone was screaming in his ear, but when he sat up, the room was still dark and quiet, the only sound being Ignis’ murmured, “All right, love?” As he rubbed gentle circles over Gladio’s back until he was able to settle back down. 

Ignis was always awake every time Gladio startled. He felt a bit guilty, it had probably been his movements that had woken Ignis up each time, but it had helped to have him there to calm him down.

Most of them were all up by the time the sun rose and Gladio had dragged himself downstairs. No one bothered to ask how anyone had slept; it was all evident by how drawn and pale everyone’s faces looked. 

“Well then,” Ignis started, with a glance around the room at everyone that intended to go to the airship. “The sooner we get out to the ship, the sooner we can return. Shall we?” 

Gladio knew that Cor still wanted to come; he’d overheard him talking to Nyx about it over breakfast, but really, with his broken arm, it wouldn’t be wise to go on a trip like this. Especially since they were going to try and make a quick trip of it. 

Iris nodded, eagerly. “All set,” she said, giving Ignis a thumbs-up. 

“I’m glad someone’s eager,” Noctis sighed, covering a yawn as he summoned his sword. “Getting into the airship will be tough, but once we’re in, we’ll need Ravus to guide us.” He turned to look at the scowling former high-commander. “You good with that?”

“I said I was,” Ravus shot back. “Let us go before I change my mind.”

It was probably an empty threat. Like Ignis said, Ravus had no leverage at this point. There was no point trying to go against them, especially not while being so severely outnumbered, but his attitude still rubbed Gladio the wrong way. And hey, if he shoved past Ravus a little too forcefully on his way over to the door, it wasn’t like anyone was about to call him out. He unlocked the front door, creaking it open just enough to peer outside. 

There was no one outside the house— no living Infected, and he informed the others of this as he glanced through the cracked door once more. 

“We should go, then,” Ignis urged. “Perhaps they still believe we are near the hotel.” 

Luna had seen to it that no Infected knew they’d taken refuge in this house. There were several dead bodies scattered nearby from when they had to flee the hotel.

As Gladio opened the door just enough for everyone to get outside, he spotted paw prints surrounding the area where Luna had fallen. But there was no body now, Gladio caught Ravus surveying the area with an expression on his face that he couldn’t quite gauge. He’d clearly seen the paw prints too. It was a bit of a relief, Gladio didn’t really know what he’d do if he had to see her body there so soon after, her death still raw and fresh in everyone’s minds.

Noctis and Ravus shared a glance. “Let’s go,” he said, reaching for Ravus’ arm. 

Ravus recoiled from the gesture, unsheathing his sword and pointing toward the nearby alley. “There’s a shortcut,” he said, “To the airships.” His mouth pointed downward into a scowl that had become a familiar expression upon his face. 

The six of them slipped through the narrow alley. It had been one they’d traveled through before many times, but it didn’t make it any easier to squeeze through. Gladio had to sort of pull his shoulders in as he took up the rear behind Noctis. If anyone was going to come out and ambush them, he wanted to make sure it was his greatsword that would be stopping them in their tracks. 

Their shortcut took them directly out to the main road. Several bodies of Infected lay strewn across the street, while others seemed fixated on one of the two airships. 

Ravus hissed in a breath. “The one we need to get into is the one surrounded by Infected,” he told them. “I should have known this wouldn’t be easy.”

Nothing since the outbreak had been _easy_ , Gladio wanted to say, but this wasn’t the time or place for that. He summoned his greatsword, the others in front of him doing the same. Noctis warped ahead and thrust his blade through one of the Infected, turning their attention away from the airship and toward the group. 

“All together, now!” Ignis launched into battle. Prompto fired a bullet into the head of the Infected that was wheeling around to attack Noctis as Gladio and Iris raced forward. 

Everything was a mess of screaming and screeching as they cut through the Infected blocking the entrance to the airship. 

From beside him, Gladio could see Ravus slip past them and reach the door of the ship, pulling it open, and Six, even _that_ was loud. He kicked an Infected back a few paces to allow Iris to stab it through the middle. It wouldn’t kill it, but it certainly wouldn’t be going anywhere fast. 

As the Infected crumpled to the ground, Ignis sliced it through with his polearm, finishing it off. Between the group of them, it didn’t take too long to kill the Infected that congregated around the airship, but Gladio could see more and more of them being drawn over from the commotion. 

“The whole damn city is going to hear them screaming,” Gladio shouted. He swung his greatsword and missed the head, but managed to pierce the shoulder of one Infected. “Remember what Cor said: in and out.”

Noctis warped through the entrance of the ship, ignoring Ignis berating him about tiring himself out as the others scrambled to follow. Gladio caught Iris by the arm and pulled her with him as he followed Ignis and Prompto inside the airship. 

Ravus pulled the door shut. “Do not let your guard down,” he said, clutching the handle of his sword tightly. “From how those Infected surrounded the ship, I have reason to believe we might not be alone. Let us hope I’m wrong.”

Their shoes were too loud— everything was too loud in here. Every sound they made seemed to reverberate around the airship as Ravus led them through some doors toward what Gladio presumed was the control room. 

Iris reached over, gripping the hem of Gladio’s shirt as she stayed close to him. The airship wasn’t terribly big, but it was wide— at one point they passed by a staircase that likely led to an upper deck, but they didn’t seem to be going that way. 

They reached another door, this one locked. Ravus fumbled around his pockets for a moment, and then unlocked it with a click that also seemed to echo loudly through the ship. 

“In here.” He pushed open the door.

Ignis made a sound of disapproval. “I do hope you don’t expect us to enter this room on our own with you standing outside holding the key.” He gestured to Ravus. “After you.”

Ravus’ eyes flicked to the doorway, and then upward. “Fine.” He pocketed the key, stepping into the room. 

Ignis followed him, and then the others. Now that they were inside, it was clear this was the main part of the ship. Gladio could see a railing overlooking the lower deck— which was probably where the stairs led. 

Ravus stepped purposefully over to the chairs in the center. He tapped the floor in front of him with the toe of his boot and then knelt down, feeling around the edges. “There’s a hidden floorboard around here,” he said. “Though it isn’t discernible at first glance, it takes a bit of feeling around. There’s a lip… here,” his fingers stopped brushing over the area and he pulled it upward. 

They peered inside the compartment, a sinking feeling in the pit of Gladio’s stomach when he realized that it was empty. 

Ravus jumped to his feet, his eyes casting wildly about. “I knew it,” he seethed. “We weren’t the first to think of the first-aid kit. There are only two others who would know where it would be.”

“Do you think it was—” Iris started. 

“Fancy meeting you here!” called a voice above them. They glanced upward as Ardyn sauntered over to the railing, looking down over them, his lips curled up in amusement. “I will say, I never expected to see you leave your precious hotel. How is that going, by the way?”

Gladio’s hands curled into fists. “What the hell are you doing here?” He could see Ignis stand protectively in front of Noctis, and Prompto silently hid his arm behind his back, cocking his gun. Gladio wasn’t sure if Ardyn had seen him do it, but it didn’t matter. They couldn’t drop their guard. 

Ardyn gasped in mock-surprise. “Why, such biting words! I was simply running a little errand. In fact, I was about to be on my way. If you don’t mind.”

Ravus also clenched his hands as he looked up to address Ardyn. “Enough games, Ardyn. You know what we’re here for,” he sneered. “Where is it?”

Ardyn put a hand on his chest. “ _Oh_ ,” he lifted his other hand to reveal a case which was undoubtedly the first-aid kit. He gave the case a gentle shake. “Are we looking for this?”

Noctis warped up to Ardyn the same time Prompto pulled his gun out from behind his back and fired a shot. Gladio heard the bullet ricochet off one of the posts to the side as Noctis tackled Ardyn to the ground, the element of surprise on his side. The first-aid kit flew out of Ardyn’s hands, hitting the floor with a heavy thud. 

Gladio turned to Ignis. “We need to get up there!” 

“There’s a staircase,” Ravus told them, hurriedly. “Through that room. It leads to the upper platform.” His expression darkened. “Don’t let him get away with that medicine case.” He had barely finished speaking before Gladio and Ignis took off in that direction, Ignis switching out his polearm for his daggers as they raced for the staircase. 

More gunshots. Ardyn’s laughter echoed through the airship. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” he tutted. “You wouldn’t want to risk hitting your precious king, now would you?”

Ignis reached the top of the steps just moments before Gladio did and launched himself at Ardyn, daggers swinging. Ardyn kicked Noctis off of him, rolling onto his feet before pulling Noctis into a chokehold.

Gladio’s heart sank as he saw the familiar glint of a gun as Ardyn pressed it to Noctis’ temple. He froze.

“And here I was trying to be pleasant,” Ardyn mused. “Any of you take one step closer to me, and I’ll pull the trigger.”

Gladio glanced down over the railing to see that Prompto had stopped shooting. Iris and Ravus were motionless, Iris watching the scene above them with wide, frightened eyes. 

Ignis’ jaw clenched, his eyes furious as he clutched his daggers tightly. “If you harm Noct, I will kill you,” he ground out. “Release him.”

“Ah, but I seem to have the upper-hand,” Ardyn replied. “You see, your king-to-be might have the magic, but I have the leverage. I simply came here for the case,” he nodded at the first-aid kit that had skidded near the ledge. “Though I ask you this: do you truly believe I came here without backup?”

_Infected? Or had he teamed up with other survivors?_ Gladio couldn’t get a read on him, couldn’t tell if he was bluffing or not. But regardless, they couldn’t make any stupid mistakes. It was better to just do what he wanted for now.

“What do you need it for?” Ignis asked. “The first-aid supplies?”

Ardyn smiled again. “Ah yes, I’m sure you’re just dying to know.”

They may not have trained for the Infected, but the possibility of Noctis being held at gunpoint was something Gladio and Ignis had been taught to prepare for. They had to stay calm, for one. If Izunia wanted the first-aid kit, he could have it. He could take it and go, as long as it meant he’d let Noctis go.

“Ardyn,” said Noct, and it was like he’d read Gladio’s mind. “Take the med kit. We don’t need it.”

“But clearly you do, or you wouldn’t be here,” Ardyn replied. “Who is it this time? I thought you had a healer! _Unless_ …” he raised his eyebrows, a smirk growing on his face. “The princess Lunafreya—”

Noctis elbowed him in the gut. The stalemate that they’d been in passed in a flurry of motion. Ardyn’s gun went off as Noctis vanished in a warp-strike. They had the numbers, but Ardyn knew the airship better than most of them and he ducked into another room as Ignis did some impressive jump, slicing at Ardyn.

He must have hit him somewhere, because Gladio noticed the blades came back red— he couldn’t help but feel proud that at least Ignis had landed a strike. Ardyn was faster than he looked, dancing around them all like he’d been training for it his whole life. 

Maybe he had, they really didn’t know anything about this guy besides what Aranea had told them.

“Ignis!” Noctis called from somewhere— he was warping around so quickly Gladio couldn’t really get eyes on him. 

“On it,” Ignis called back, expertly throwing his dagger toward Ardyn. This time it definitely hit, either because Ardyn was preoccupied with Noctis or because he hadn’t expected Ignis to _throw_ the daggers and actually hit him. 

Ardyn grunted as he came to a stop, his smirk fading as the dagger pierced his shoulder. His fingers closed around the hilt of the weapon.

“Watch out!” Iris shrieked from below them. “The Infected! They’re in the airship!” 

And had apparently gone upstairs too, Gladio realized as he ducked away from an Infected soldier that tried to grab him, knocking it to the ground and using his greatsword to slice off its head as several more clambered through the halls of the airship toward them.

They shouldn’t have made such a commotion. Down below, Ravus, Prompto and Iris were fighting the Infected that had entered the airship from the lower deck, and Gladio could see the flashing blue light as Noctis warped frantically around the room.

The Infected poured into the ship, resounding shrieks in Gladio’s ears. He spotted Ignis near the far end of the upper deck, one dagger down but not letting up as he switched his weapon back out for the polearm, and driving it through the middle of several Infected, kicking them off the ledge where Iris, Prompto and Ravus finished them off. 

“Status report!” Ignis shouted, his voice panicked and hurried. 

“They just keep coming!” Iris cried back. “They’re going to trap us in here if we don’t get out!” 

“They won’t,” Ignis replied, sounding more sure than he probably ought to. “We have to kill them or they’ll follow us.”

Gladio had lost sight of Ardyn for a few moments, only spotting him again when he snatched up the first-aid kit and tried to slip into a room. Noctis warped to him, grabbing his ankles and dragging him back into the fray. “Don’t you dare try and sneak out of this!” Noctis spat. 

Ardyn lifted the case and bashed Noctis in the head with it, before kicking him backwards. Noctis gasped, his head snapping back as Ardyn shoved him over the ledge of the upper deck.

Gladio saw it all happen at once— how Noctis tried to warp back to safety, how his eyes widened as instead of warping, his body jerked. When he realized he’d exhausted it, Noct frantically grasped for the railing, scrabbling to grip the ledge and pull himself up.

“ _Noct_!” Prompto screamed, spotting him hanging from the upper deck.

Gladio shoved some of the nearby Infected, and up ahead he could see Ignis doing the same, both of them trying desperately to get to Noctis as quickly as possible. But Noctis’ hands were slippery, either from sweat or blood, and he lost his grip on the ledge he was holding onto, dropping into the horde of Infected down below. 

Still clutching the case, Ardyn got to his feet and vanished down the stairs. 

_Let him go_ , Gladio thought to himself as he launched himself off the edge of the railing and swung his greatsword down on the gathering Infected. He could smell blood penetrating his nostrils as he shoved his way to the middle of the creatures— To Noct, praying to the astrals with every fibre of his being that he’d get to him fast enough. Iris was there, too, and she drove her blade into the forehead of one of the creatures just before it could tear into Noctis, who Gladio could now see was lying prone on the ground, his eyes wide and terrified. 

“Fuck, Gladio—!” Noct’s voice was shaky as he caught sight of him.

Gladio and Ignis reached Noctis at the same time, Ignis slicing through two Infected on either side of him as they grabbed at their abdomens and snarled and gurgled at him.

“It’s okay, it’s okay,” Noctis was saying as Ignis continued to stab, behead, kill any Infected that got within range. “They’re dead. Ignis, please.”

“Get away from him!” Ignis was seething at the Infected, felling several of them with just a single slice of his polearm.

Gladio stepped over the bodies of the slaughtered Infected and scooped Noctis up. “Just hold on, kid, we’re getting the hell outta here.” He said. “Were you…” the word lingered unspoken in the air.

_Bitten?_

Noctis buried his head in the crook of Gladio’s neck. “I’m fine. We just need to get out of here. You can put me down, I can… I can walk.”

“What happened?” Iris squeaked from beside Prompto.

“Exhausted my warping,” Noctis groaned. “Ardyn, he…”

“Forget Ardyn, dude!” Prompto also sounded panicked as Gladio got his bearings. 

Ignis had made short work of the Infected that had been in the immediate vicinity, but now he stood over one of the dead soldiers and raised his polearm above his head, driving it through the body. Iris reached out to tap Ignis’ arm, and he reeled around, his glasses askew as he reached up to fix them. “Ardyn has made off with the first-aid kit,” he said. 

“We’ll have to make do without it,” Ravus replied. “Or find another one elsewhere. We will have to use the supplies we found back in the house for now. There’s nothing more we can do.”

“Gladio,” said Noctis. “Let me down.”

“Hell no, we’re getting you back.” Gladio said. It wasn’t up for debate, and he ignored Noctis as he tried (and failed) to make Gladio drop him. He scanned the rest of the group; They looked a bit beaten up, but nothing beyond some cuts and bruises.

Ignis and Ravus cleared their path as Gladio carried Noctis out of the airship. At one point, he tried to warp out of his arms, nearly slipping out of Gladio’s grasp before he clutched Noctis tighter. 

“Enough,” Gladio warned. “We both know you can’t warp right now.”

“We just worry about you, Noct,” Iris said gently.

“I’m fucking twenty years old,” Noctis snapped back. “I hate everyone coddling me like a child.”

Apparently, all the Infected that had been drawn in from the fight on their way here were the ones that had gotten in. The door had been torn off its hinges. The other nearby Infected appeared to be wandering about the gas station mini-mart. 

Ignis pointed to the alley, and they slipped back to the house with little fanfare, much to Gladio’s relief. They hurried inside, Prompto shooting one Infected that noticed them enter the house and they locked the door back up. 

The moment they were inside, Noctis shoved Gladio away, with a miffed, “Get off me.” 

He slapped out to shove Ignis too, but he caught his arm. “I would like to make sure you’re all right. Get you out of these clothes. Patch you up,” Ignis said, glancing him over. “Your clothes are torn, and all of us are rather covered in blood.” He reached out to Noctis again, but he slapped his hand away. 

“No,” Noctis repeated, sounding more pained. “I can handle myself. Just… worry about yourself, for once, Specs. All of us are pretty beaten up. And,” he paused, gesturing to a worried Cor and Nyx. “I know you have to take care of Cor, too. I’ll just towel off. Deal with it myself.”

“I-I’ll come with you!” Prompto exclaimed. He looked anxious, and just as worried as the rest of them.

“ _No!_ ” 

Prompto shrunk back as Noctis lashed out, turning on his heels. “I just want everyone to leave me alone!” He balled his hands into fists, narrowing his eyes. “Stop— just— stop _fussing_ over me!” He tore away from everyone, his boots thudding loudly up the stairs as he clambered up them. A door slammed. 

“What the hell happened out there?” Cor looked stern, his expression hardened. “You all look like shit. Are you hurt?”

“We’re all right,” Ignis said hesitantly. “Though rather worse for wear. Ardyn apparently had similar thoughts regarding the first-aid kit and we had a run in with him. He made off with the supplies. We were attacked by Infected, Noct exhausted his warping and fell into a horde. We… we got to him as fast as we could.”

“Says he’s fine,” Gladio quickly chimed in. “Just shaken.”

Cor bowed his head. “We’re even worse than we were before sending you out there.”

“We will make do,” Ignis replied. “Cor, I’d like to check your arm again. Perhaps there’s more I can do for it. I might have a few more supplies that I can-”

“Save it,” Cor replied, gruffly. “Might need them later.”

“We need you in top shape, Marshal,” Ignis pressed. “I won’t use more than I need, but you will have to use your arm eventually, and I want to do as much for it as I can.”

“Let us help you,” Nyx added. “C’mon. You might be stubborn, but Ignis and I are too. We aren’t gonna leave you alone until you let us take a look at it again.”

Cor relented. “Fine.”

Belatedly, Gladio realized that Prompto was gone. When he asked, Iris said something about him having gone after Noctis. He’d have to talk to Noct later about being smarter about warping. They had all been scared, but recklessly exhausting his warping like he had would only put them all in more danger. 

Ravus was going through the cabinets again, clearly just wanting something to do, despite having checked them all last night. They were all in dampened spirits, but the more sitting around they did, the worse they would feel. Still, Gladio found himself sitting on the couch despite his better judgmemt, still reeling from the encounter at the airship. Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to take a breather.

Once Ignis and Nyx had checked Cor’s arm, Nyx joined Gladio on the couch. “You know,” he started. Gladio glanced over at him, but Nyx didn’t make eye contact. Like he was partially talking to himself. 

“Hm?” Gladio prompted, anyway. 

Nyx sighed heavily. Closed his eyes. “There was a calendar on the desk in the kitchen. I never realized… in two days, it would’ve been Crowe’s birthday. Twenty-nine.” He drew out the word. “I fuckin’ miss her.”

“We didn’t realize how serious this outbreak was,” Gladio replied. It wasn’t reassuring, and he knew it, but he didn’t really know what else to say. 

“Yeah.” Nyx sighed again. “I just had this big thing planned, y’know? Was gonna take her out to a nice dinner. That fancy restaurant we showed you and Ignis. She loved it there, even though she always teased me for pampering her. It was worth it. Anything was worth it for her.” 

Gladio opened his mouth to say something, but Nyx interrupted him with a dry laugh. 

“She wouldn’t want me to beat myself up over it. We knew the dangers that come with being a glaive.” He cleared his throat, rubbing his hands together. “I know we’ve all lost people. I just never thought I would lose her, too. But she’d… I can’t…” his voice caught. 

Gladio put a hand on his shoulder. “She knows,” he said. “She’d be proud of you.” It felt strange coming from him, being so much younger and far inexperienced compared to Nyx, but Nyx still leaned into the touch. 

“And I’m proud of her,” Nyx said, earnestly. “Everything she did. She was devoted to Insomnia, to King Regis. She made me proud every day.”

They sat like that for some time, neither of them saying anything more until Iris checked the radio. “I wonder if there is anyone else out there,” she mused. “People trapped in their houses trying to get it touch with someone. Anyone.”

Nyx nodded in agreement, breaking the silence when he answered, seemingly ready to change the subject. “I wish we knew.”


	27. Chapter 27

Even though Ravus was able to find a couple more band-aids and some disinfectant in the upstairs bathroom, they were still severely limited in their healing supplies. Without the first-aid kit, it seemed like they were just scraping by. 

Over the course of the next two days, Ignis kept busy between monitoring Cor’s arm and Gladio’s hands, but Gladio still caught moments where the calm and collected mask Ignis so carefully wore would start to slip. A blink and the expression was gone— he doubted anyone else ever even noticed, but it pained him to see Ignis looking just as scared and worried as the rest of them.

With Ignis busy and Cor injured, most of the outings were going to be left up to the rest of them to handle. Gladio didn’t mind, but now that they’d lost the rope in the hotel fire, it would only get more and more difficult to leave the house. The next time they opened the door, Gladio expected the Infected to have realized they were there and be waiting to tear them all apart. He had no clue how they hadn’t been discovered yet. 

“I hate to be the one to bring this up,” Prompto said that afternoon, leaning back against the kitchen counter. Despite the casual position, he was fidgeting, and wasn’t meeting Gladio or Ignis’ eyes when he spoke. “But like, why are we still in Lestallum? We should go somewhere. I mean, we don’t know what’s out there, but we do know what’s here, and it’s not good. For every Infected we kill, it’s like they multiply. The number never goes down. So maybe we should go somewhere less populated.”

“We get run out of every damn place we go,” Gladio growled. “I’m tired of running.”

Prompto shrunk back. “Dude, believe me, I am too! But we…”

“Prompto’s got a point,” Ignis sighed. “We either confront these Infected and wipe them out or we leave. There’s no point in dallying here and just waiting for them to kill us. We have to choose a course of action.”

“If we wipe out all the Infected around town, we may have a shot at rebuilding Lestallum,” Gladio said.

“There’s too many of ‘em here,” Cor sighed, rubbing his face. “If you recall, Cindy and I trapped a bunch of them in the power plant, and yet it seems to have barely made a dent in the number of Infected that still wander the streets. I almost wonder if the civilians that died in their homes after being infected have learned to open their doors. That would certainly explain why there always seems to be more of them. Some of them might have perished in the hotel fire, though, or at least the ones that had taken over the first two floors.”

Ravus cleared his throat. “And Ardyn is still here. None of us are safe with him around. He’s as much a threat as the Infected, especially now that we’ve made him our enemy. He’s always been interested in seeing just how much he can… _meddle_. I believe he will continue to harness his power and try to control them somehow. Ardyn leading an army of Infected will spell death for us all.”

“Running is what got us here in the first place,” Gladio said. He turned to Nyx. “What about you? Ready to just run out of here like everyone else? Don’t you want to try and restore Lestallum?”

Nyx bit his lip, looking between Gladio and Ignis and Cor. “I guess we’re the ones running the show here, huh,” he mused, letting out a dry chuckle. “Look. All I know is there still might be some people living scared in Lestallum, and yet we’ve sat here and done nothing to help them. Whether we stay or go, we still need to give them a chance. Do _something_. They might not know how to fight, but we do. Let’s take Lestallum back and give all those people a chance to rebuild the town and restore it to its glory.”

“Think logically about this, you two,” Cor continued, frowning at Gladio. “As great as it would be to try and retake Lestallum, we have no clue how many people here are still alive. If any even _are_. I agree that we need to reclaim it at some point, but nine of us against a whole town of undead? Highly unlikely. Our numbers are dwindling as theirs grow. Your plan might be the noble one, but not necessarily the one that will keep people alive.”

“I am inclined to agree with the marshal on this,” Ignis wore a similar expression on his face as Cor. “We simply cannot continue to remain here. I propose we take refuge elsewhere; somewhere less populated. Once we have trained up any survivors we can pull together, we can seek to reclaim the larger towns— such as Lestallum.”

“And what do you think of this plan, Noctis?” Cor asked, turning to where Noctis stood, one leg up propped up against the wall and arms crossed over his chest as he returned Cor’s glance. Cor continued: “You will be king as soon as we establish ourselves once more, our next move should truly fall to you to have the final say.”

Noctis swallowed, and he looked almost pained as he made his way over to the table. “Wh-what do I think?” He echoed.

“That’s what he said,” Gladio replied, raising an eyebrow. “So? You wanna stay in Lestallum or shove off?”

“Um. We should…” Noctis glanced at Ignis. “If we can save these people, we should. But if we hear that somewhere else is safer, we should make that our base. Then we can send people back here. And there’s the cure, too.”

“If I have any luck with it,” Aranea said. “Which I hope to.”

Gladio nodded. “Okay, good. Then we have a plan.”

Noctis nodded, but as Gladio watched him, it was clear something was wrong. He kept avoiding eye contact, rubbing his hands on his pants. It looked like he was _sweating_? He narrowed his eyes, keeping a careful eye on Noctis. As the others continued to talk over their course of action, Noctis moved back over to the wall. Crossed and uncrossed his arms. Rubbed his hands on his pants again. Wiped his forehead.

It was concerning. 

“Noct?” Gladio asked, drawing out the prince’s name. Noct glanced up at him, as if dazed, and then walked back to where they were seated at the table. Ignis broke away from the discussion to tilt his head up at Noctis, who reached a hand out to him.

“I don’t…” Noctis started, before he crumpled to the ground.

“Noct!” Ignis’ alarm seemed to spread through everyone as he scooped the unconscious Noctis up in his arms and pressed the back of his head gently to his forehead, concern etched into his every movement. “Does anyone know what’s wrong?” He glanced, panicked, up at the others.

Prompto shook his head. “He never said anything to me!” 

“Me neither,” Gladio replied. 

Ignis carried Noctis upstairs to the master bedroom, Gladio and Prompto following behind him as he gently laid Noctis on the bed, brushing back his hair. “He’s sweating,” Ignis murmured, mostly to himself as he pulled up a chair to get a better look. “I… he doesn’t look good.”

“Is he sick?” Prompto asked, peeking over Gladio’s shoulder. “He didn’t seem sick. Just distant. He’s been…” he paused. “Really distant, actually… since the airship.”

Noctis groaned and opened an eye. He shuddered, reaching out. “Specs.”

“I’m here,” Ignis took his hand. “Noct. I need to know what’s wrong. Are you ill? What’s happened? If you need medicine, I’ll go hunt Ardyn down myself to get it for you.”

They all knew he wasn’t lying. Noctis’ hands were shaking as he reached out, and Ignis took his hand. “No. I… shit. I should have listened to you about not exhausting my warping. I was hoping that maybe if I bandaged it up and ignored it, it would go away.”

Ignis tensed. “What would go away, Noct?” He asked, voice rigid.

Still trembling, Noctis pushed himself to a half-sitting position and rolled up the hem of his shirt. He’d wrapped something— gauze, it looked like, around his torso. He bit his lip and looked up at Ignis. “They got me,” he managed. “Fuck. Ignis, they— one of the Infected. When I fell off that ledge, it… it bit me.”

His words felt like a stab through the chest. Everything Gladio had done to protect him, to make sure Noctis was always looked after, always safe…

“Why didn’t you tell us?” He shouted, stomping over. “You’ve known for over two days and you didn’t think to mention it to any one of us? Not even Prompto?”

“And what could you do?” Noctis snapped back. “Quarantine me? Kill me? There’s no cure, Gladio. Whether I said anything or not. It doesn’t matter. I didn’t want you to worry, which— I guess it’s too late for that.”

 _Worry_? Gladio could feel the fear bubbling into rage as he thrust himself between Noctis and Ignis, getting up in Noctis’ face. “Were you just going to keep pretending everything was fine until you turned and killed us all? You can’t just put a band-aid on it and have it go away. Hell— people died for you. People would’ve _continued_ to die for you, even though you’ve been infected. This isn’t the kind of thing you keep from us!” He brought his hand up to smack Noctis across the face, but Ignis grabbed his wrist, halting him.

“ _Gladiolus_ ,” Ignis admonished. “That’s quite enough. He was only trying—”

“No!” Gladio pulled his arm out of Ignis’ grasp and punched the wall above Noctis’ head. It was hard enough to hurt his knuckles. It didn’t matter. He could hardly feel it, so blinded by sheer panic and rage.

They had spent their whole life trying to protect Noctis and make sure that he was safe, that he ascended the throne like he was supposed to. But they had _failed_. None of it mattered. Noctis had been bitten. And there was nothing they could do to help him. 

“We’ll figure it out, Noct,” Prompto was saying, taking Noctis’ other hand in his. “Don’t worry, we’ll figure it out. We’ll cure you.”

“How can we?” Gladio wheeled on Prompto, who shrunk away from his glare. “It’s no use. There are no leads on this. Highwind said it herself, she lost some of her supplies in the fire. What are we supposed to do?”

He wasn’t sure when Nyx had come upstairs, but when Gladio turned to Prompto, he could see Nyx watching stoically from the doorway. “What’s happened?” He asked.

Gladio was about to snap out something sarcastic that would metaphorically bite everyone’s head off in the process, but Ignis answered first. “Noctis was bitten the other day during our run to the airship.” 

Nyx was silent, glancing over all of them as he took in the scene before him. 

Prompto’s lip trembled. “Hey, Noct. Please tell us this is some sick joke, and ha, ha, you got us, you’re only kidding? Anytime now, buddy.”

Noctis took a deep breath and shook his head, letting go of Prompto and Ignis’ hands. “There’s really only one thing we can do now,” he said. He summoned his sword from the armiger, handing it out to Ignis. “You all know what happens when someone gets infected. You have to kill me.”

Ignis took the sword, eyes drifting down to meet Noctis as he leaned back and closed his eyes. “It’s fine, Specs.” Noctis’ voice wavered. “I get it.” 

“W-wait!” Prompto cried, getting in between them. “There’s gotta be another way! Aranea’s still working on the cure, and—!” He broke off his protests when Ignis vanished the sword.

“Noct, no one is going to touch you with the intention of harming you. Myself included.”

“ _Specs_ ,” Noctis tried again. “If it was anyone else, I know you wouldn’t even think twice. They’d already be dead.”

He was right. Gladio knew it. They all knew it. They just weren’t ready. 

“Not when it’s you.” From Ignis’ tone, Gladio could tell he couldn’t be negotiated with, even if Noctis was the one trying to convince him. “No one will touch you,” Ignis declared. “I swore an oath to protect you and keep you safe. This whole cure has been for naught if we cannot save the one person who needs it the most. I will do whatever it takes to see that the cure is made.”

“I hate to be the one to say this,” Nyx said, still from his place in the doorway, “But the reality of the situation is that Noctis can no longer stay with the rest of us. It’s too dangerous, especially since it’s been over a day since he was bitten. Forgive me, your highness. I will heed Ignis’ wishes in letting you be, but locking you up would be the safest way to monitor you while Ignis and Aranea work on that cure.”

“I understand,” Noctis replied. He hung his head, and Prompto pulled him close to his chest, burying his face in his hair. Gladio could see him trembling.

“You won’t be alone though,” Nyx continued. “We can send people in to speak with you and make sure you get to eat when the rest of us do. And somehow I suspect there will be several visitors to keep you company.”

“The office in the far back,” Ignis suggested. “You can stay in there.”

Noctis nodded.

“We have to tell the others,” Gladio said, as Ignis helped Noctis to his feet. “We have to tell ’em. Keep doing what we’re doing. Wipe out as many damn Infected as we can while we work on a cure. Guess this settles whether we’re staying or not. At least for the time being.”

Prompto nodded, tears in his eyes. Noctis lifted his head to look up at him and they shared a kiss before Prompto’s face crumpled and he dissolved into tears.

Gladio knew that the likelihood of them actually finding a cure in such a short amount of time with all the setbacks they’d had was highly unlikely. And hell, he didn’t even know if they would ever find a cure, but even if he had been the one Noctis had handed the sword to— he knew he probably wouldn’t have been able to do it. No. He _knew_ he wouldn’t be able to. Not Noctis. 

“Specs. Can you take me to the office?” Noctis asked, looking up at Ignis over Prompto’s head. Ignis nodded, and Nyx stepped aside to let them pass before he also left Gladio alone in the room.

They were being stupid. They all were. But this was _Noctis_. This was the kid Gladio had grown to love, the one he had trained tirelessly to be able to stand by and fight for. He punched the wall again once he was completely sure he was by himself, and no one could see the tears that streaked down his face.

There was nothing he could do, and that was what hurt the most. Ignis had been the one to always be down-to-earth and logical, but now that Noctis was the one involved, neither of them could do what had to be done. No matter. His knuckles were cracked and bleeding as he punched the wall one more time. They’d failed. They’d all failed. 

Every ounce of him wanted to scream and beg the gods to take it back. It should have been him. He’d give anything to have that day back and do it over. If he’d been bitten catching Noctis, then so be it. In fact, he _should_ have been. The Shield was always supposed to fall before the king. 

But now, he just felt so powerless. They certainly couldn’t leave Lestallum now, not with Noctis in this state. They just… had to keep going, but he didn’t know how. “You had one job,” he muttered to himself around clenched teeth. “One!” 

He pressed his forehead against the wall, and finally allowed himself to cry. 


	28. Chapter 28

They’d eaten dinner mainly in silence, Ravus only speaking once to inform them he’d found quite a few candles and matches in one of the drawers that he thought they could make use of. Cor thanked him, and they’d split them all amongst themselves, Ignis taking a few extras to give to Noctis later. No one spoke after that, but Gladio preferred it that way. Nothing they could say would make anything better. 

Everything felt a lot emptier without Noctis joining them, but they all knew that it would be easier to keep tabs on him this way. After several long moments, Ignis excused himself and took his untouched share of dinner upstairs. To Noctis, maybe? Gladio wasn’t sure. After the rest of them finished their dinner, Iris had given Gladio a reassuring hug, and then he headed up to his room to wait for Ignis. 

And he waited.

The longer he stared at the ceiling of his bedroom, the more sure he was that Ignis wasn’t planning on coming to bed tonight. Gladio knew he’d wanted to start working on the cure right away, knew that they didn’t have time, but a part of him still felt like none of what happened the other day was real. 

Gladio hadn’t even bothered to get under the covers. Too hot, too restricting, and he doubted he’d get to sleep at all tonight, anyway. He supposed that Ignis was planning to work through the night. Realistically, there was no way Ignis would waste precious time to sleep or take any breaks. It had already been days since Noctis had gotten bitten. Two entire days that Noctis had _hidden_ it, Which. Fuck. The window of time they had was variable, and only getting shorter. 

What would his dad think now? What would _Regis_ think now if he knew that the one person he’d entrusted to be his son’s Shield had failed?

There was a knock on the door. 

Gladio propped himself up against the headboard, calling out gruffly. “Yeah?” A part of him wished it would be Ignis, because gods know they could both do with a little comfort, but when the door cracked open, Prompto poked his head in. He was holding a candle. 

“Gladio? Are you awake?”

“Be pretty damn hard to call you in if I wasn’t,” Gladio replied, a bit more harshly than he intended. None of this was Prompto’s fault, but he couldn’t help the frustration at the whole situation from seeping into his voice. Everything was just grating. 

“Right,” Prompto sighed. He pushed the door open the rest of the way. “You can’t sleep either, huh?”

“Nope,” Gladio replied. 

“Ignis isn’t here.” 

Gladio couldn’t quite tell whether it was a question or an observation, but he sighed into the palm of his hand and repeated, “Nope.”

“I wanna see Noct, but Iggy’s like. Full-on guard mode. Anyone goes anywhere near Noct’s room and he comes flying out of nowhere. It’s like spidey-senses, but like. Noct-senses.”

“He’s got that,” Gladio replied. He supposed Prompto was just trying to lighten the mood, but he wasn’t sure why Prompto was even in here in the first place. Gladio wasn’t planning to talk about any of this, least of all with Prompto. Gladio liked him fine, but he didn’t _get_ it; not the same way he and Ignis did. Prompto’s entire life’s purpose hadn’t been _Noctis_. 

“I know I don’t get it,” Prompto said then, and it was like he’d read Gladio’s mind. He came closer and with a heavy sigh, and plopped into the chair in the corner of the room. “I haven’t known Noct as long as you guys have. And up until I started training for the Crownsguard, he was just a friend of mine. A good friend, but still a friend. And for you and Iggy, he’s like— pretty much everything. It’s your job, and I guess it’s my job too, since I started my training. Even if I never got to finish it. I guess… things look pretty bleak, but Noct isn’t dead yet. And I’m not gonna treat him like he is. He’s my best friend and my boyfriend, so…” he fiddled with his wristband. “I just owe him everything. I wish it would’ve been me.”

“Yeah.” Gladio moved forward so that he was seated at the edge of the bed. “We all wish it would’ve been us. But you’re right. He ain’t dead yet.”

“I just don’t know what to do,” Prompto admitted. “I just want to talk to Noct. But like I said, whenever I go over there, Ignis just. Appears. I just don’t want to upset him, but like, Noct’s my best friend, no matter what. I want to see him.”

“I’ll talk to Iggy about it,” Gladio said. It was the least he could do. “Noct deserves company. Not to be locked up alone in some room. I think Iggy just worries someone’s going to try and kill him. I guess technically we should. That would be the smartest thing to do. But I just… can’t.”

“I can’t either,” Prompto voice quivered. “I just want him to know that I’ll always be by his side.” He paused. “Do you think they’ll get the cure?”

Gladio frowned. Clenched his fists. “I don’t know. But even if they do, there are stages of testing. We can’t have Noct be the guinea pig, especially if doing so will risk messing him up worse. They’d have to try it on someone else first, which complicates things. Takes more time than we have.”

“I’d do it,” Prompto said, not missing a beat. “If they need to test it on someone. I’d do it; whatever it takes.”

“Get in line,” Gladio replied. He was sure Prompto would have to fight to offer himself up as a test subject. No way anyone would let him do it— and Gladio could think of at least two other people who would also offer themselves without hesitation, himself included.

Prompto bowed his head. “Um. This is kinda unrelated but I… I have to tell you something,” he said, softly. “I already told Noct, so…” 

“Out with it, then,” Gladio replied. He leaned in, watching as Prompto took a deep breath and stopped fidgeting. 

“Oh… okay. So. The thing is, I was born in Niflheim. I guess they were planning to raise me to become a soldier. But then when I was an infant, someone from Lucis broke into the facility and kidnapped me.”

“Cor,” Gladio said. Prompto nodded. 

He’d heard stories of things Cor had done. Apparently, after he’d rescued the one child, he’d gone back to try and rescue more, but they had been moved by the time he’d gotten there and he’d returned with a few more scars than he’d left with. Though he never knew that the child Cor rescued had been Prompto, of all people.

“I saw Cor off and on growing up, but we were kind of opposite ends of the world— like, Cor had all his fancy royal duties, and I was just some kid who lived in the city with parents who were never home. But whenever he would come around, he would tell me I was doing good. I don’t even know what I was doing. And then when I met Noct for real, everything felt so surreal, but I kept thinking everything would end the moment I told Noct where I was born. I thought he would be mad, like, me being the enemy and all, but I told him a little while ago, and he was cool with it. He said all that matters is that I’m here now, and that I’m on your guys’ side. But sometimes I just… think about what would’ve happened to me if Cor had never rescued me.”

“Niflheim was wiped out,” Gladio answered. “Probably would’ve used you in their testing of the virus.”

“Yeah,” Prompto frowned. “But I’m not. I’m here, and I’m with you guys. So I want to do whatever I can to prove to everyone that my being here was worth it. If I can save at least one person, it’ll make it all matter.”

Gladio felt like that a lot, too, though he’d never admit it to Prompto. He’d been tasked to protect Noctis, but if he could just save one person, he wouldn’t be a complete failure. And he’d keep going until the Infected or the universe struck him down. 

“Listen, it doesn’t matter if you’re originally from Niflheim. You didn’t grow up there, you aren’t a Niflheim soldier, and you’ve proven yourself repeatedly that you’re loyal to us. So I don’t see the problem.” He stretched an arm over his head, raising an eyebrow at him. “But if you’re gonna save people, you should probably get some sleep. Be on top of your game.”

Prompto looked up, rubbing his neck. “Right. Sure. I know.” But he made no indication that he was going anywhere. 

Neither of them were going to get any sleep, then. Gladio got to his feet with a sigh. “Get up, then. Let’s go.”

“Where are we going?” Prompto asked, looking confused as Gladio stood and pulled on his shirt. 

“To see Noct. Why the hell not, Iggy will understand if we just want to keep the kid company.” He pulled open the door and gestured for Prompto to go out in front of him. “Listen, he’s probably miserable, too. Might as well be miserable together.”

The moment they stepped out into the hallway, Ignis was in front of them, blocking their paths. “What are you doing?” He asked. He looked tired, but pointing that out wouldn’t make any difference. 

“We just want to hang out with Noct a bit,” Prompto replied, holding his hands up in defeat. “He’s just as scared as we are, so. It’s not fair to keep him locked up all alone. Like I know Nyx is right, and it’s safer for all of us that way, but he isn’t even sick.”

 _Yet_. 

Ignis still looked suspicious, but his shoulders drooped. “All right. I understand. Please believe me when I say I’m not happy about him being in there alone either. Call me if anything happens,” he said. “And… tell Noct I’m working as fast as I can. I won’t rest until we find the cure.”

Gladio knew he was telling the truth. “We will,” he said. 

Ignis relented, stepping aside to let them past. The hall was suspiciously quiet, but when Gladio passed by the stairs, he could see Ravus sitting on the bottom step, his back to them. Keeping watch, probably. Or thinking. Guess none of them could really sleep.

Gladio reached Noctis’ door, taking a deep breath and knocking steadily. 

There was a shuffling, and then Noctis’ voice. “Yeah?”

“It’s us, bud,” Prompto called back. “Me and Gladio. Can we come in?”

There was a brief silence. “If you think it’s a good idea.”

“You feel sick?” Gladio asked. 

“No.”

He opened the door. Noctis was sitting in the corner of the room, a candle illuminating his face as he looked sulkily up at them. He hadn’t seen the office since Ignis had taken Noct there. The pair of them had apparently rearranged the room to try to give Noctis more space. They’d pushed the furniture up against the walls, and there was a makeshift bed made out of spare blankets and pillows from the linen closet. Noctis’ hair was mussed up, like he’d been laying on it. “What do you guys need?” He asked. 

Prompto sat beside him, and Gladio closed the door, standing a bit hesitantly in the doorway. “We just wanted to see you. Is that okay?”

“Yeah, I mean, I’m still alive. If that’s what you wanted to know,” Noct replied glumly. “But thanks for checking in anyway, I guess.”

“That’s not it!” Prompto insisted. “It’s just… not fair that we immediately lock you up like this.”

“We locked Cindy up,” Noctis retorted. 

He had a point. Gladio had even insisted that Iris not share with Cindy after she’d gotten scratched. It shouldn’t be different with Noctis, but it was. 

“Dude, just. Let’s do something, okay? Play a game, or something. None of us can sleep, so what does it hurt?”

Noctis sighed, considering. He glanced up at Gladio. “And if I keel over and die in the middle of it?”

“You won’t,” Gladio told him. Noct threw him an expectant look, so he added, “But I would do what I had to do.”

Noctis swallowed. “Good, I guess.” He was scared, Gladio could tell, but there wasn’t much they could do to comfort besides serve as a distraction and be extra cautious. 

“Who knows, you might even be immune,” Prompto was prattling on. He reached into the armiger and pulled out the cards. “You know, with your magic royal blood or something. Might not react to the virus.”

“I’m not immune.” Noctis bit his lip and took the cards from Prompto. He shuffled them.

“Never know! Regis might’ve been too! We just didn’t know.”

“ _Prompto_ ,” Noctis said sharply. Prompto fell silent. He dealt the cards. “I’m not immune. I can already kind of feel it. Not sick, or anything. But I… I’m like. Weaker. Less coordinated.”

“Iggy’s working on the cure,” Gladio said, as if that changed anything. 

Noctis’ shoulders slumped. “Yeah, I know. He’ll run himself into the ground trying. I know him. I guess it’s selfish to want him to succeed for my sake, but it wouldn’t just be me he’d be helping. But whatever. I just… don’t really wanna talk about it, okay? Let’s just play. Gladio, are you playing too?”

They couldn’t afford to give up. Not after everyone that had died to give them all a chance. “Fine,” he said, coming over to sit on Noctis’ other side. “Who’s going first?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some Prompto backstory in this chapter! I like the headcanon that it was Cor who rescued Prompto from the facility. He doesn't have a barcode in this fic, but Niflheim would have either raised him to be a soldier or a test subject for the virus (or both).


	29. Chapter 29

Things were not looking up for them. Noctis was sleeping more, and while it was probably a way for his body to try to fight off the virus, it sent Gladio into a cold sweat every time he opened the door and found Noctis sprawled out on the floor.

They had now known for two days. Which meant it had been _four days_  since Noct had been bitten, and they all knew they were running out of time. Nyx and Cor kept Iris busy, whether it was counting supplies, checking each of the drawers and closets for anything they may have missed, or training. 

Whenever Iris caught Gladio looking at her, she would smile hopefully, but they both knew she was only trying to keep everyone’s spirits up. Someone had to around here. Every time they made eye contact, he could tell what Iris wanted to ask: _‘Have they found the cure?’_

Gladio shook his head— every time, his heart sunk to see her grimace and nod back, tight-lipped. 

Ignis didn’t show up in the morning. Nor did he show when Gladio and Iris helped dole out some canned soup when people started to get peckish around mid-day. Ignis wasn’t really missing out, the soup wasn’t very good at room temperature, but Gladio wanted to at least get that visual confirmation that Ignis was doing okay— that he wasn’t just up there trying to deal with this shit on his own without anyone there to give him a shoulder to lean on.

Gladio just wanted to do _something_. Anything that allowed him to be useful. Sitting around here waiting for Aranea and Ignis to have a breakthrough was just making him feel incredibly useless, incredibly frustrated, and incredibly guilty.

It must have rained last night. Cor had mentioned wanting to go out and check the status of the hotel— perhaps gauge the damage, see if they could salvage anything. Gladio had volunteered to join him. Anything was better than hanging around here and doing nothing. Especially since Cor’s broken arm forced him to fight one-handed now rather than two-handed, as his weapon was designed for. Cor could do with the backup, and Gladio could do with the distraction.

He wandered back upstairs to keep busy while Cor went to ask Prompto if he was interested in coming along as well. He could see the door to Aranea’s room cracked a bit, and he hesitated in the hallway for a while before knocking gently on the door. 

“Come in,” Aranea called. 

He pushed the door the rest of the way open with the toe of his boot. “Hey. How’s it goin’ in here?” He asked.

Ignis was measuring a liquid that Gladio hoped was the cure. “We might be on to something,” he said, his voice disguising any hint of emotion behind his words. “Aranea and I believe that this new approach— that is, developing a cure for someone who has been infected but not turned— might be a better way to go about this.” 

Aranea stretched her arms over her head. “It’s a stretch,” she admitted. “We aren’t sure about the exact proportions, and I don’t recommend we rush out and test it because well… you remember what happened with that first Infected we tested on?”

He did. The way the Infected had snapped his head up and snarled actual fucking _words_ at them was not something he could easily forget. “Yeah.”

Aranea nodded solemnly. “Yeah,” she echoed. “We don’t need a repeat of that, especially with someone so important.”

Ignis hissed in a breath. “With all due respect, Gladiolus, do you need me for something?”

He wanted to say yes, that he was worried about Ignis and all those meals he’d skipped, all the sleep he was very clearly forfeiting in order to work on this cure. “Just checking in,” he said instead. “I’m probably going out with Cor and some of the others to see what’s what outside. With the hotel and all that. Would you want to come?”

“Gladio,” Ignis’ tone was strained, but at least he was using his nickname again. “I can’t. There’s far too much to do. But do be careful.” _Six_ , Iggy didn’t even so much as glance up at him. 

Aranea looked apologetic. “Best of luck,” she said. “I’d say we’re making progress here, but it’s kind of hard to tell without being able to test it on anyone. Makes everything infinitely harder. If by some miracle, you find someone out there who’s bitten but isn’t undead, bring ‘em here.”

There wasn’t really a chance of that, but Gladio chuckled dryly anyway. “Will do.” He pulled the door mostly shut again. When he turned around, Ravus was standing in the hall, staring at him. 

Gladio narrowed his eyes. “What do you want?” He asked. 

Ravus held his gaze. “I heard some of what you discussed in there,” he said. “The cure needs a test subject, is that right?”

“What’s it to you?” Gladio snapped. He wasn’t in the mood for this— for Ravus, for his attitude, for anything, really. “They’re working their asses off to try and save Noctis. Save Eos. What are _you_ doing?”

Ravus cleared his throat. “I wish to speak to prince Noctis. I am not foolish enough to expect that any of you will let me do it alone. Will you escort me?” He pulled his coat open. “I am not armed, in case that’s what you’re worried about.”

Gladio frowned. This was definitely not what he had been expecting to hear. He glanced down at Ravus’ coat. Sure enough, the man didn’t appear to be armed at all. “What do you want to see him about?” He asked. 

 “It is none of your concern, but I suppose you will hear it, anyway. _When_ I speak to the prince, that is. I highly suggest you allow me.” Ravus didn’t sound like he was up for negotiations. Gladio didn’t like his tone, but since Ravus wasn’t armed, he didn’t have any reason to deny him. 

With a heavy sigh, Gladio motioned for Ravus to follow him. “Come with me, then. And make it quick. I told Cor I’d check on how things looked back at the hotel.” It didn’t matter— all of it was stalling anyway, but he’d rather do something than sit around and wait for the inevitable. 

He reached the door of the office, knocking twice loudly. “Noct. You good?”

“Mmf,” said Noct’s muffled voice through the door. “Gah. What?”

His voice sounded rough, like he’d just woken up. It was better than the alternative. Gladio swallowed down any feelings of worry prickling at the back of his mind and opened up the door. 

Noctis was yawning, his arms stretched above his head. Gladio avoided looking at the strip of bandage poking out from under his shirt. He didn’t want to see it. Didn’t want to think about it. 

Noctis… wasn’t looking good. There were dark circles under his eyes, despite how long and often he was sleeping lately. His hair was matted to his forehead, perhaps from sweat. 

“You look like shit.” Gladio said, because what the hell was he even supposed to say in a situation like this?

Noctis gave him a weak smile. “I mean, I’ve been better.”

Ravus stepped out from behind Gladio, and Noctis furrowed his brow in a silent question when he caught sight of him.

Gladio reached out to try and stop him, but Ravus moved out of reach and then crossed the room to where Noctis was seated on the ground. In a gesture that surprised both of them, he kneeled before Noctis. “Your Highness.”

Noctis’ wide-eyes met Gladio’s, who could only offer him a confused shrug in return. Noctis tilted his head, reaching out to push on Ravus’ shoulder. “It’s fine. Just. You don’t have to bow to me.”

Ravus looked up, his lips pressed into a thin grimace. “Your highness. I understand that it was my sister’s dying wish to see this world restored to peace. I have been thinking about this for days now, and just now I overheard that Highwind needs a volunteer to test the cure— and they will not allow any potential cure to be administered to you unless they are sure it works. I may not be able to change Lunafreya’s fate, but I am able to choose my own. Allow me to be the one to test the cure.”

Noctis recoiled as though he’d been slapped. “Ravus, no. I—”

“You’re not listening,” Ravus interrupted. “I have nothing left to live for. I am choosing this. If the cure works, I will have made it possible for you to live. I will have righted my wrongs and done what I could to see that the world be restored. If it does not, I will have assisted in getting them closer to developing a cure that _does_ work.”

It would be an understatement to say that Gladio hadn’t expected Ravus to suggest this, of all things. He stepped back against the door, his arms crossed over his chest. 

Noctis tried to stop him again: “Ravus, I… Luna wouldn’t want this. She’d want you to live.”

“I wanted _her_ to live, too,” Ravus replied dryly. “She did not. This war has gotten my entire family killed, and now it will end with me. My sister fought her entire life to find happiness in a world that I only ever saw darkness in. I want it to end. Let me do this, Noctis.”

They spoke as though they knew it wouldn’t work. Gladio knew that the chances were slim— the first test of a cure on a human instead of a turned Infected. The chances of it being the perfect version of the cure that would keep Noctis from turning, was… unlikely. To say the least. 

But it was all they had. 

Noctis put a hand on Ravus’ shoulder. “All right,” he relented. “If that’s really what you want, I know I can’t stop you, but I can at least thank you. Have you spoken to Aranea about it?”

Ravus shook his head. “No, but my mind has been made up. I will inform her now.” He bowed once more to Noctis, and then stepped gracefully out of the room, his coat swishing out behind him as he stepped resolutely down the hall. 

Gladio turned back to Noctis. “Didn’t see that coming,” he admitted. 

Noctis nodded sullenly, a frown on his face. “I just wish there was another way. All you guys ever do is risk your lives for me lately. I don’t want you to.”

“Tough,” Gladio shot back. “You don’t get to decide that, princess.” The nickname jab felt forced and heavy on his tongue. “It’s his choice, and we wouldn’t let anyone else do it.” 

Noctis still looked miserable. Probably felt miserable, too. There was so much Gladio wanted to say to him, could say to him, but the words just stayed trapped in his throat. He pressed his fist against the doorframe. “I’m gonna see if there’s anything salvageable from the hotel with Cor,” he said, after a long and uncomfortable silence.

Noctis nodded. “Um. Hey Gladio?”

Gladio paused. Looked back at Noctis from the doorway.

“Uh,” Noctis said, after a brief hesitation. “… Maybe you guys should tie me up or something. Just in case.”

That was all the confirmation Gladio needed that things were indeed getting worse. He didn’t have the rope from the hotel, but he knew they had various cords and such from their camping equipment that he pulled from the armiger and secured it around Noctis’ ankle. “I’m not gonna bind your hands,” he said, gruffly. “No point in that yet.”

“Thanks,” Noctis said. He didn’t meet Gladio’s eyes. 

Gladio shuffled quickly out of the room, locking the door behind him and wiping an arm over his face, sniffing and blinking away the beginnings of tears. He wasn’t going to cry. Not yet. Prompto was right— Noctis hadn’t even turned yet, and they were…

“Gladiolus. There you are. You ready to go?” Cor asked. He’d reached the top of the stairs and peered around at Gladio. “Prompto’s not coming, but he asked us to keep a look out for his camera, said he dropped it in the chaos of escaping the hotel. Iris is going to join us, though.”

Gladio sniffed again. Forced a chuckle. “All right. Think you can handle both us Amicitias?”

“I’m sure of it. But I also have the utmost confidence that you can handle yourselves.”

***

An ear pressed against the door, Cor said, “I still don’t hear them out there.”

“But how do you know?” Iris whispered, her eyes wide. She was also listening to the door, Gladio standing back a bit with his greatsword drawn.

“We don’t, we just have to open it again and hope for the best,” Gladio replied. They’d gotten very lucky the last few times they’d gone out, and it was more and more likely that the Infected would find out they were hiding here with each time they snuck out of the house. 

Cor frowned. “We should go,” he said. “On the count of three, Iris and I will open the door. If there are Infected waiting, Gladio— you will have to kill them. Pray to the Six that the coast is clear. There are things out there that we need. Supplies. Anything. You ready?”

Iris nodded. “I’m ready,” she said. 

“One.”

Gladio hoped there weren’t any Infected on the other side of that door. He took a deep breath and prepared for the worst as Cor pulled the chair away from underneath the door and tightened a hand around the doorknob.

“Two.”

There was enough killing and death to last him a lifetime. Several lifetimes, even. He didn’t want there to be Infected waiting for them, but they were pushing their luck by staying here. What were the odds that they _still_ wouldn’t know there were people here? After four days?

“Three.”

The door creaked open. Gladio raised his greatsword, ready to swing, but stopped halfway through a slice of his weapon. The street in front of them was dead silent, not a human, soldier, _Infected_ in sight.

How…?

“Coast is clear,” Cor announced, even though they could all see that. “Let’s get going.” They weren’t going to question _why_ it was clear. They just needed to get out and back as quickly and diligently as possible.

As they ducked across the cluster of houses into the next alley, Gladio kept an eye on Iris. She seemed to be doing okay, and was just as focused as she was supposed to be, but he felt anything but. He had a task to do now— get to the hotel, scrounge up whatever supplies they can find, get back to the house. He had to get with it.

Up ahead, Iris and Cor executed a series of fancy moves and Iris jumped up and drove her sword through an Infected. 

Gladio shook his head, hoping to clear his mind and stop being distracted long enough to do what he needed to do. He had to focus. He sped up, reaching Cor as Iris turned around to give Gladio a thumbs-up. 

“Didya see that, Gladdy?” She grinned. “Wasn’t it great?”

“Yeah,” Gladio answered half-heartedly. He forced a smile. “You sure showed those Infected up.”

“You know it!” Iris chirped back. She ducked behind some boxes, peering up over them as Cor joined her, Gladio following just behind them. The two of them continued to methodically kill any Infected in the way while Gladio pulled it together long enough to help them until they reached the hotel.

Or rather, what was _left_ of the hotel. Despite the rain from the other night, many of the walls had collapsed, and the hotel was charred. Several bodies of Infected surrounded the area, and Gladio’s head reeled as he took in the sight of it all. 

“We might not have as much luck here as we had hoped,” Cor said, icy blue eyes fixed upon the wreckage, a deep frown on his face. “But keep an eye out for Prompto’s camera. I’ll search through this pile of wood.”

“I’ll help,” Gladio blurted. He glanced around at the charred remains of the hotel as Cor picked through what was left of the hotel. It was difficult to think that this had once been a three-story hotel. That people they loved had died here. 

“Gladio, to the right!” Iris cried out. 

Gladio reeled around and thrust his greatsword out as three Infected came charging at him. Cor and Iris jumped to his side, swinging their swords as they cut down their attackers. Cor shoved away the Infected he’d killed and stepped into the hotel, bending down and kicking aside some wood as he reached for something, holding it up. 

“Found a can of beans here that looks to only have gotten dented,” he said. “But we aren’t going to have much more luck here, everything is in shambles.”

“Looks like it,” Iris agreed. “I was hoping it wouldn’t be this bad.” She stepped behind the only still standing wall of what remained of the hotel and out of sight.

“We all were,” Gladio replied. He glanced around the area, keeping an eye out for the camera like they’d promised Prompto, but it was nowhere to be found. Maybe he’d dropped it farther away from the hotel, or it had gotten stepped on or picked up. Either way, it wasn’t here, and nothing else seemed salvageable. 

“We should go back,” Cor said, pausing to drive his Katana through the middle of one of the Infected. His aim was just a bit off without being able to use both hands to keep his Katana steady. It didn’t kill the soldier, but it crumpled to the ground, its gloved hands clawing at the weapon lodged in its abdomen before Cor pulled it out. 

Gladio brought his greatsword down on it and delivered the final blow, and if he reeled back and stabbed it a third time even as it slumped over, Cor wasn’t about to say anything. 

At that moment, Iris raced by the two of them, screaming, “Gladio, Cor, time to go!” 

Gladio looked in the direction she had come to see a horde of Infected tearing their way around the building straight for them. He gestured to Cor. “Let’s get outta here!” 

Iris launched herself over the group of boxes over the alley they had gotten to the hotel from, and Gladio almost tripped over them as another Infected hurtled toward him from the opposite direction. 

He caught Cor’s stern glare, and he didn’t have to voice the words for Gladio to hear them in his head: “Watch yourself, Gladiolus.” He was trying, and instead of jumping over the boxes, he just kicked them aside to follow after Iris. He knew Cor would want him to put Iris over him, but he couldn’t help but cast a few glances behind him just to make sure that Cor was indeed keeping up with them.

He had just spotted Cor when he crashed into Iris, the two of them stumbling just outside their house. “What the hell?” Gladio snapped, but when he looked up, Iris’ mouth had fallen open and she was pointing.

The Infected that had been chasing them had stopped in their tracks, staring at Gladio and Iris, but they made no indications that they were going to come any closer. Gladio knitted his brow. “What’s with them?” He asked. 

Iris shrugged her shoulders and started to answer, but before she could, she caught sight of Cor slicing his way through the Infected. She raced to his side as he all but collapsed into the clearing near the houses. 

“Cor!”

“I’m fine,” Cor replied, gruffly. “Arm is sore, that’s all. Slammed it against a wall of the building in my haste, but the pain will pass.” He stood, seemingly processing that the Infected that had been chasing them had now all stopped in their tracks. He steadied his Katana. “What are they doing?”

“We don’t know,” Iris replied. “They’re just… standing?”

Ravus threw open the door. “Get inside!” He hissed at them, stomping out of the house. “What do you think you’re doing?”

A bullet ricocheted off the house, just missing Cor as the four of them jumped back. “One of them has a gun!” Iris exclaimed, which seemed redundant given that they could all see the Infected that was holding the pistol. 

They had to either get inside or kill the Infected, but before Gladio could settle on which plan to carry out, Ravus made the decision for them. He strode purposefully past Gladio, Iris, and Cor, and wrenched the gun out of the hands of the Infected that had fired at them. 

Fight it was, then. 

Gladio swung his greatsword, his blade connecting with the underside of one of the soldier’s helmets and wrenching it off. He ducked as Iris hopped onto his shoulders, driving her sword through its now exposed head. 

The rest of the horde looked to be less skilled in fighting— probably were never trained for it. None of them appeared armed, and they had likely all been civilians. One of them snarled, a young man with a brown hat, blue shirt, and apron— perhaps someone from the food mart area? It reached out to try and grab them, and Gladio and Iris wasted no time in killing that one as well.

They had taken out three or four of them before Gladio realized that Ravus wasn’t actually fighting. 

Rather, he seemed to be intentionally trying to piss them off, throwing punches where he should have instead been thrusting out his sword, and only when one of the Infected grabbed hold of his arm and sunk its teeth into his shoulder did Gladio realize that Ravus had been _trying to get bitten_. 

“Ravus!” He growled around clenched teeth, pulling the High Commander away and driving his greatsword through the Infected that had bitten him. “What are you doing?”

“I needed to be Infected for them to test the cure.” Ravus said, and it sickened Gladio how he said it so nonchalantly. “We haven’t the time to play around. I needed to be Infected, we needed to kill the Infected. This way we can do both of those things.”

The last Infected slumped over, and Iris pulled her sword from his body, glancing at Gladio over its shoulder. “That’s all of them. Let’s hurry inside before more show up!” 

They pulled open the door and crowded into the house, Gladio still trying to wrap his head around what had happened out there. He slammed the door shut and bolted it before he wedged the chair back under the handle.

Cor pressed a hand to Ravus’ back. “We should get you upstairs,” he said, frowning. “Miss Highwind should administer the cure as quickly as possible.”

Ravus winced. Nodded. “I’ll admit, it stings,” he said, and Gladio didn’t really like the guy, but he still hadn’t wanted to see him get bitten like that. After a pause, Ravus continued, “If this does not work, promise me you’ll keep trying until it does. For her sake.”

_Lunafreya_.

Gladio nodded. “I can help him from here,” he told Cor. “After all, your arm is probably still hurting.” 

“It’s fine,” Cor said, brushing it off. “Didn’t hurt nearly as much as breaking it did. But I won’t stop you if you want to help Ravus up there yourself.”

“Yeah, I do,” Gladio replied. As Cor stepped aside, Gladio helped Ravus up the stairs. “Aranea!” He shouted. “We need you out here now!” 


	30. Chapter 30

“Ravus?” Aranea exclaimed, her eyes wide as she threw open her door and spotted Gladio supporting Ravus up the stairs, Cor and Iris trailing hesitantly behind them. She took over for Gladio and pulled Ravus into the room. “Wh— I thought we were going to do this in a controlled environment?”

Ravus shook his head. “I was to be infected anyway, Highwind,” he replied. “The means hardly concern me. I know time is precious to you all.”

Gladio, Iris, and Cor started to crowd into the room, but Ignis gently ushered them back into the hall. “I must ask you to please remain outside. It would be far too much with all of you at once. Though,” he spared a glance at Gladio. “We could use at least one person to be at attention in case something doesn’t go the way we intend.”

“I’ll do it,” Gladio and Iris chorused. They both paused to frown at each other.

Cor sighed. “ _I_ will do it,” he said. 

“All right, I’m making the executive decision here,” Aranea interrupted before any of them could start to argue over it. She instructed Ravus to sit down on the bed as she spoke. “Gladiolus, you’re helping since you’ve got no broken bones and could probably deadlift any of us. The rest of you, shoo. We’ve got enough to deal with as it is. Go check on the prince if you want to do something— make sure he doesn’t need anything.”

Cor and Iris didn’t look pleased by Aranea’s request, but complied and left the room without any further protests. As soon as the room was less crowded, Aranea got to work. 

She measured out the cure as Ignis explained to Ravus and Gladio how it was supposed to work. The idea, apparently, was that the cure was in part, the virus itself— only modified to work twice as fast so it would kill the virus before the virus killed the host.

“It’s a long shot,” Ignis finished, partly under his breath. “We will likely not know right away whether or not it’s actually working. The virus mixed with the meteorshards is… in essence, supposed to cancel out the toxins in the body from the virus. But if they do not, it’s a guaranteed death sentence.” He glanced up to Ravus. “And you will turn even more quickly.”

“I don’t want to turn,” Ravus replied, closing his eyes. “I will die before I become one of the creatures that murdered my sister.”

“Then I will intervene before you do,” Ignis promised. He took a deep breath. “How do you wish to do this? Would you like to lie down?”

“No. Just get it over with.” 

Aranea sighed. “I wish we had more time,” she said. But one step closer to a cure was better than nothing. They had to try.

“I do not care what happens to me,” Ravus said, sliding off his coat and folding it beside him. His shoulder was bloodied and discolored where it had been hidden by his coat. “But I only ask you this: If the cure does not work with me, don’t stop until you find something that does. For the sake of this world.”

“I’ll spend the rest of my life trying to make that happen,” Aranea promised. 

Ravus extended his arm and leaned back against the wall as Aranea administered the cure. He twitched and closed his eyes, only opening them again when Aranea patted him awkwardly on the knee. 

Gladio watched Ravus carefully for any hint of a reaction, but there didn’t seem to be one. After a few moments of silence, Ravus furrowed his brow and pressed his hand to the open wound on his shoulder. 

“How… do you feel?” Aranea asked. Her eyes followed his movements toward his shoulder and she grabbed a piece of gauze. “I guess we should clean that up before it gets worse or you bleed all over the bed.”

“Don’t waste your supplies,” Ravus sounded weary. “I don’t know what it is I’m supposed to feel, but I’ve certainly felt better. Then again…” he gestured to his prosthetic arm. “I suppose I’ve also felt worse.”

Gladio had heard the broadcast when it had happened— how Niflheim had succeeded in creating an advanced prosthetic arm with their ‘breakthrough technology’ after the High Commander lost his arm in battle. It had been all over the news for days. Back then, he never thought he’d find himself actually feeling sympathetic towards the man.

Ignis stepped forward, pulling Gladio back out of his thoughts as he took the gauze from Aranea and helped Ravus up. “The least we can do is wrap it while we wait to see if the cure has taken effect.” 

Even as Ravus protested, Ignis switched out his gloves for ones with more coverage and set about cleaning and bandaging the bite on Ravus’ shoulder. “I only ask that you inform us should anything change,” Ignis said as he worked. “My best guess regarding the time it will take is highly dependent on how quickly your body would respond to the virus. Take the normal time, half it. I wish I could provide you with a more precise estimate, but the nature of the virus is highly variable. As is the cure.”

“Fine,” Ravus pulled his sleeve back down once Ignis finished patching him up and grabbed his coat, slinging it over his shoulder. “I know where to find you if I need assistance. In the meantime, I don’t plan to sit here while you all gawk at me.” 

Without any further words, he got to his feet. Gladio stepped by to allow him exit from the room. 

“Thank you for overseeing this, Gladiolus,” Ignis said, wrapping up the syringe and tossing it into the wastebasket. “You’re free to go and do as you wish while we wait.”

While Gladio was used to Ignis using that particular tone when speaking publicly or at a council meeting, he wasn’t used to having it directed toward _him_. “Iggy…” he started, but even as the words left his mouth, he wasn’t sure what to even say. 

Ignis’ eyes rose to meet his, and just before he schooled his expression into practiced neutrality, Gladio caught the flicker of doubt there. 

“With you on the job, we just might have a chance with this cure,” Gladio said. He had meant to lift Ignis’ spirits, but when he saw the subtle clench of his jaw, he mentally kicked himself. That wasn’t what Ignis had wanted to hear, but it was too late to take it back. 

Ignis pressed his lips together tightly. “Yes, well. We’ll see.”

***

Even with nothing to do but wait, Ignis still didn’t seem like he was going to take a break, and set about cleaning up the workspace, the bedroom, anything in sight. He showed no signs of stopping, so Gladio decided to bide his time by doing push-ups. 

At one point, Iris joined him in the room. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see her hovering near the doorway, but when he didn’t say anything, she joined him in his exercises for a little while before hopping backwards onto his bed, kicking her legs absentmindedly. 

Neither of them said anything. Gladio didn’t know what he could even say if she had wanted to talk.

He focused on breathing, on tuning everything else out so he’d only have to focus on this moment, right now. That moment was interrupted when he heard heavy footsteps from out in the hall, and the sound of coughing. 

Ravus. 

Still breathing heavily, Gladio hurried out into the hall as Ravus stumbled towards Aranea’s room, his hand thrust out against the wall to steady himself as he wheezed.

Ravus tried to glare when he caught sight of Gladio, but it looked more like a grimace instead. “Don’t just stand there,” he said, his voice lacking any real hostility. “If you’re going to help, help.”

His heart hammered in his chest as he helped Ravus into Aranea’s room. Thankfully, both Aranea and Ignis were in there, and Ignis glanced up at the commotion, his eyes widening as Ravus snatched up the wastebasket next to the door and promptly vomited into it. 

Ignis was at his side in an instant, his hand on Ravus’ back. “What do you need?” He asked. He pulled something from the armiger that Gladio belatedly realized were his daggers as Ravus continued to retch and his body spasmed. 

“Is this supposed to happen?” Gladio asked, glancing worriedly between Aranea and Ignis.

“How should I know? I’ve never done this before!” Aranea shot back. “Maybe his body is flushing the toxins.”

Ravus groaned, still shaking as Ignis helped him to sit down on the bed, and with every passing second he only seemed to be getting worse. His fist clenched. “It…” he stammered, snatching the box of tissues Aranea held out. “Wasn’t… right.”

“What’s not right?” Gladio asked. 

Ignis pulled his hand back, a calm mask settling over his features. “The dosage,” he answered. “It’s…” Killing him. Ignis didn’t even have to finish his sentence; they all knew. 

_Glad we didn’t give that to Noct_ , Gladio thought, even as he said, “Maybe that’s just how it works— gets worse before it gets better?”

Ravus shook his head. “No,” he rasped. “It’s not working. Please.” He clutched his chest with his other hand and cursed under his breath. “You know what you have to do.” Even from where Gladio stood, he could see that Ravus was sweating. “End it. If you don’t, I will. I refuse to be one of _them_.” He reached for the daggers in Ignis’ hands, but Ignis pulled away. 

“Just a little longer,” Ignis said softly. “It might work still. We have to be sure.”

“I _am_ sure,” Ravus snapped. He wrenched one of the daggers from Ignis. “I know how it works. The cure either kills you or it cures you. Now do it, or I will.”

Ignis took a deep breath. “All right. I’ll make it quick.” True to his word, he lifted his dagger and drove the blade through Ravus’ head.

“Damn it,” Aranea hissed, slamming her hand onto the desk. “I thought for sure we were on to something there. _Damn it_.” She snatched her notes up off the table, pouring over them. “We calculated everything so precisely, and…”

Ignis vanished the daggers, reaching out for the notes as Aranea passed them over to him. He was silent for a few moments as he scanned the calculations, finally pointing at something on the paper and holding it out for Aranea to see. “Perhaps we trying lowering the amount of this here, and then raise the amount of meteorshard dust?”

Aranea pressed a hand to her forehead. “It’s worth a try. But we’re out of people to test it on.” She glanced at Ravus’ body on the bed. “I just wanted it to work,” her voice sounded soft.

“As did we all.” Ignis didn’t meet Gladio’s gaze as he pulled out the desk chair and started scribbling notes out on one of the papers. “We’re out of time for trial runs. As soon as the next version of this cure is done, we’ll have to use it on Noct. Regardless. We have to get back to work immediately.” He ran a hand through his hair. “Gladio, if you would… we can’t just leave Ravus’ body here.”

Gladio frowned. “Wait just a minute, Iggy. That’s putting a hell of a lot of pressure on yourself. I don’t want to be the guy who’s gotta ask all the hard questions, but what if you go through all this effort and it doesn’t work?” He saw Ignis’ mouth twitch, so at least he was listening, even if he didn’t like what Gladio was saying. 

“It _has_ to,” said Ignis, emphatically. “I will not rest until it’s perfected.”

“That’s not what I want to hear,” Gladio replied. Already, he could see how the lack of sleep had affected Ignis. As if the dark shadows under his eyes weren’t enough, he was getting increasingly more agitated, bristly, _desperate_. “Listen. Ig. I’m sure Aranea can work out the equations and shit while you take a nap. Just two hours, even. You need it.”

“I don’t,” Ignis snapped. “I’ll sleep when we’re sure Noct is safe. No sooner. I cannot afford to take a break, Gladio. None of us can. You saw what happened to Ravus— if we aren’t careful, Noct may meet the same fate. I will not allow it. Just…” he waved a hand, dismissive. He still wouldn’t look at Gladio. “Go, then. If you only intend to berate me.”

Gladio narrowed his eyes. “Fine. But you and I both know people think better when they’re rested. That includes you. So don’t come to me when you’ve worked yourself to death and your cure doesn’t work because you were too damn tired to measure it out properly.”

“Then I won’t.” 

“ _Fine_.” Gladio slammed the door as he stormed out of the room, surprised to see Cor standing in the hall as though he had been waiting for him, his steely gaze fixed on Gladio. 

“Ravus is dead.” He didn’t say it like it was a question, but Gladio answered anyway.

“Yeah,” He snapped, a bit harshly. “It’s just. Ignis should _know better_. And now we’ve gone and gotten another one of us killed. Did anyone else really think otherwise? We’re no closer than we were yesterday.”

“But you are closer,” Cor told him. “Ravus offered a way to test the current cure as it was. That failure allows them to adjust the proportions so that it may work the next time. Don’t give up just because it didn’t work on the first try.”

He didn’t want to give up. Really. But between the coughing that he could hear echoing out of Noctis’ room and Ignis’ manic desperation, he was just so angry that none of it— _none of it_ — was in his control.

Cor put a hand on Gladio’s shoulder. “We all want to feel like we’re doing something, Gladiolus,” he said. “But it isn’t always possible. Sometimes we just need to do whatever we can. Ignis is doing what he can, but you aren’t helpless. It’s time to stop acting like you are.”

“I’ve been trying.” Gladio could feel the anger in the pit of his stomach again. “I’ve been trying, but he doesn’t fucking listen to me. He won’t even take a break. Gods, he hasn’t even eaten.”

“Neither has Noctis,” Cor replied, his voice gentler than Gladio had ever heard directed at him. “Why don’t you bring him something? In the meantime, I’ll see if I can convince Ignis to come down for a meal this evening.”

Gladio huffed. “Good fucking luck. He’s stubborn as shit.”

“You both are,” Cor said, with a raised eyebrow. “Go on, then.”

He didn’t need to be told twice. Gladio headed downstairs, the floorboards creaking as he made an effort not to stomp down the steps and entered the kitchen. Iris, Nyx and Prompto were huddled around the couch, speaking in hushed voices until they heard him come in.

Iris glanced at him from her seat. “He’s dead, isn’t he? Ravus.”

Gladio nodded. “Yeah.”

No one else spoke, so he pulled open one of the cabinets and grabbed an energy bar for Noctis, feeling three pairs of eyes on him as he moved about the kitchen. 

“Are you and Ignis fighting?” Iris finally asked. “I heard you yelling.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Gladio replied. He wasn’t in the mood to talk about it, especially with Nyx and Prompto as an audience. “I’m bringing this to Noct. Anyone want to come?”

“I was just with him,” Prompto said, tugging as his wristband. “He wasn’t feeling too well. He’s started coughing a lot when he’s awake.”

“I could hear it,” Gladio sighed.

“What if there is no cure?” Iris asked.

Gladio didn’t know how to answer her, so he didn’t. It was a question that weighed heavily on his own mind as well. Nothing he could say would make her feel any better. 

Nyx got to his feet. “I’ll come with you.”

The two of them headed back up the stairs and down the hall to where Noctis’ room was. Gladio didn’t bother knocking— the coughing was loud enough that they all knew he was awake. He opened up the door. “Noctis?”

Noctis looked horrible. His hair was sticking up in some places, matted down in others. Back in Insomnia, Gladio might have teased him about how messy it looked and told him to go take a shower, but not now. Noctis’ eyes, bloodshot and miserable, lifted to acknowledge Gladio and Nyx. 

“Hey, guys,” Noctis groaned, pausing to rub his eyes. “You probably shouldn’t stay. I don’t feel that great. I just… kicked Prom out a little bit ago.”

Gladio crossed the room, unwrapping the protein bar and sitting next to Noctis. “Sure,” he said, “But you should eat this first,” he said, handing it over. “That cough new?”

“Yeah,” Noctis mumbled. He took the protein bar, breaking off a piece and popping it into his mouth. “Feels like I’m coughing my lungs out.”

“Sounds like it too,” Nyx said. “Anything we can do to help?”

Noctis shook his head. “No,” he sighed. “I just… think maybe you guys shouldn’t come in here without knocking anymore.”

“That so?” Gladio asked. When Noctis nodded, he added: “Ravus is dead. But none of this would’ve happened if you hadn’t exhausted your warping like Ignis always warns you.” He wanted Noctis to argue— to tell him to shut up, or fight back, or _something_ that would convince him that he wasn’t doing as badly as he looked, but the prince just sagged his shoulders, defeated. 

“I know,” Noctis said with a grimace. “So many people have died for me, and for what? I never wanted any of this to happen!” He took a deep breath. “But… I won’t give up if you don’t. I’ll keep fighting, even if it hurts. I promise.”

Gladio pulled Noctis into a hug before he even registered that he was doing it. “I know,” he said. 

“Just take care of Ignis, okay?” Noctis asked, his voice muffled by Gladio’s shirt. “And Prompto. If I don’t…”

“Shut up,” Gladio said, cutting him off. “Don’t even finish that. It’ll be fine.”

Noctis sighed. Gently pushed Gladio away. “You guys should go,” he urged. “I don’t think you should come see me again.”

Nyx opened the door for Gladio. “We’ll be back with the cure, your highness,” he said. “Please try and hold out until then.”

***

By some miracle, Cor had managed to coax Ignis downstairs for dinner (if they could even call it that). Iris and Prompto were in charge of divvying up some canned beans, which they passed around on whatever dishware they found in the cabinets. 

He spotted Prompto setting aside a bowl for Noctis. Gladio wanted to remind him that Noctis had told them not to visit him anymore, but he knew it wouldn’t stop him. He thought, if the roles were reversed and it was Ignis up there in that room, he’d throw caution to the wind, too.

They barely uttered any words at all as they sat around forcing down their measly portions. Gladio stole several glances at Ignis just to make sure he wasn’t planning to give his dinner, yet again, to Noctis. It came as a relief to see that he seemed to be eating as much as the rest of them. 

Iris was the first one to break the silence. “I don’t think we should stay here anymore,” she said softly. “In Lestallum, I mean.”

Nyx sighed, pushing some of the beans around his plate with his fork. “We don’t have many options here, kid. There’s not really anywhere to go. Haven’t heard from anyone since this all started. Luck isn’t exactly on our side.”

Iris frowned, setting her bowl down forcefully onto her lap so she could use her hands to gesture at the surrounding space. “Could it really be worse than this? Hotel’s burned down, the town is infested with undead, and they’re getting smart enough now to start trying to cut us off from whatever cans of food we can scrounge up. And now with Noct…” 

Gladio could see Ignis stiffen at the mention of Noctis’ name.

Iris continued. “I don’t like it either. But it feels like we aren’t making any progress here. And if we can’t rebuild Lestallum like we planned, then what are we even doing here?”

Cor sat back. “She has a point.”

“I know.” Iris had apparently forgotten her dinner, and the bowl started to tip out onto the floor in her excitement. Gladio reached out and steadied it; they couldn’t afford to waste food. 

Ignis had begun drumming his fingers against the edges of his plate. Tap-tap-tap. And then three more times. He’d never been one to be antsy, that was usually Prompto— who, just as Gladio expected, was tugging at a bit of loose string at the hem of his shirt. 

“We don’t have our map anymore,” Ignis said at last, “Though I’ve essentially memorized all the nearby towns.” He paused. The drumming of his fingers picked up speed. “There aren’t any. There are a handful of outposts here and there, but I suppose the closest to us is Old Lestallum. We won’t make it anywhere far with the state Noctis is in.”

Iris’ shoulders slumped. “But we can’t stay here. What if we just leave the city, find some empty shack somewhere and hole up?”

“Can’t exactly travel with his highness sick like he is,” Nyx muttered. “And as dangerous as it is in Lestallum, there is food here. Can’t exactly say the same about out in the middle of nowhere. Sure there are creatures we could hunt and plants we could gather, but we’d just be hiding at that point. They’d find us, eventually.”

“Well it seems to me like we’re _just hiding_ here, too,” Iris huffed. “Doesn’t really matter where we do it then, does it?”

Aranea cleared her throat, grabbing everyone’s attention as she produced a piece of paper from her pocket. “Listen. We’ve only got a few more days— at most— to figure this cure out. Can we hang tight until I’ve got something to show before we pack up and shove off? Any time we spend trying to haul up the prince and run off somewhere is time we could spend making this cure.”

“If a cure is even possible at all,” Cor said.

Somehow hearing Cor of all people voice the thought that Gladio— and probably all the others too— had been avoiding made it seem even more daunting.

“But,” Cor offered, evidently catching the glare that Ignis had thrown his way. “I am not suggesting we stop trying to make it. Only that there’s a very real possibility that after all of this, there is no cure. And if so, what are we going to do about it?”

“We have to kill them, right?” Iris asked. “The Infected. If there’s no cure. We can’t keep running all the time. It’s all fine and well if there _is_ a cure, but if there isn’t, we’ll just have to establish a base and form our own group. Kind of like hunters, but for Infected instead of creatures.”

“We can’t slaughter every Infected person on Eos,” Nyx pointed out. “That’s too damn many. Especially on our own.”

“We can’t be the only people left,” Gladio chimed in. “The major cities are probably a lost cause, but if we can establish outposts of our own and send word somehow, people who are still alive might come to us. We can train people to fight and send out patrols to rid the world of Infected.”

“And what about Lucis, then?” Ignis asked. “Who will lead, if not Noct? Who will rebuild?”

“It’s like, the apocalypse, dude,” Prompto said. “One thing at a time, I think. No one can rebuild if there aren’t any people alive to begin with.” He pulled at the string so hard it started to unravel at the end of his shirt. “But uh. Noct’ll lead. Obviously.”

“Obviously,” Ignis echoed. He removed his glasses to rub at his eyes. “How is Noct…?” He trailed off, and Gladio realized that Iggy hadn’t even _seen_ Noctis lately, too busy working on numbers and dosages and cures to even be able to go see him.

“He’s,” Prompto opened his mouth. Closed it. “He told us that maybe we shouldn’t hang out with him anymore. I think… kinda sounds like he’s got a chest cold or something. Coughing a lot. And stuff.”

Ignis exhaled and fixed his glasses back on his face. “Right, well. I should… if you don’t mind, I will take him his dinner. I don’t blame you if the rest of you wish to stay away from him, but I… he…” 

Nyx got to his feet, sidling up to Ignis and putting a hand on his shoulder. “I’ll go with you. Can’t force any more of these beans down, anyway.”

Ignis nodded. “Thank you.”

Gladio watched them until they had disappeared up the stairs. 


	31. Chapter 31

Five days. Gladio was starting to wonder if there was something in the Lucis Caelum bloodline that made it so the virus spread slowly. Either that, or it was a godsdamn miracle that Noctis had managed to hold it off for this long. 

Still, just lying around doing nothing was driving him crazy. That, and how empty the other side of the bed was. He wondered if Ignis even slept at all— probably not, knowing him. He and Ignis were supposed to be the strong ones, they’d promised Regis and Clarus and everyone to keep Noctis safe, and now they had to just sit idly by while the virus slowly killed him and it wasn’t fucking fair. To Noct, to them, to Regis, to anyone.

Normally, he could just cut down anyone that threatened Noctis. He could make himself look threatening, warn people off who wished to do the prince harm— or otherwise summon his greatsword and send them running, cut them down with a few slices. 

This was a new level. Ignis had killed the Infected that had bitten Noct that day, but it didn’t make a bit of difference. 

Gladio snatched the pillow out from under his head, burying his face and growling into it. Normally, when he was having a horrible day, all he would have to do is talk to Ignis, just vent and have someone hear him out and reassure him. But when he was left to stew and wait, he just ended up getting so angry. At Noct for exhausting his warping no matter how many times they warned him against it, at Ignis and Aranea for not being able to come up with a cure fast enough, at himself for being such a piece of shit Shield and failing so badly that nothing they ever did could hope to fix it. 

He threw the pillow at the wall and got to his feet, pacing for a few moments before he couldn’t stand it. He had to move, talk to someone, do _something_. With a huff, he left his room and headed out in the hall. He didn’t know what he hoped to do, but anything was better than staying cooped up in his room.

The door to Aranea’s room was open when he walked by. He paused in the doorway. They didn’t typically leave the door open when they were working, so he pushed the door open a little further and poked his head in. “Any luck?” He asked.

Aranea regarded him as he stepped partially into the room, pressing a finger to her lips and pointing to Ignis. He was resting his head on his arm beside a pile of papers, glasses askew but still on. He clearly hadn’t intended to fall asleep.

When Aranea spoke, she was only a little louder than a whisper. “We can’t rush these things, kid. Wish we could. But we’re getting there. See, there’s a whole process: initial research, measurements, testing how the meteorshards react to different dosages of the replicated virus. It isn’t easy stuff. And I’ve never actually had to make it myself before now, only watched people. We’re doing the best we can.”

Gladio’s eyes shifted toward where Ignis was slumped over on the desk. Gladio couldn’t blame him, he’d needed rest for days. “How long’s he been out?” he asked, lowering his own voice so as not to wake Ignis.

“Maybe an hour? Don’t know for sure. He was in the middle of one of the calculations. Leaned forward and next thing I knew, he had his head on his arm and was out like a light.”

“Good,” Gladio said. “Are we still planning on going ahead with testing whatever you come up with on Noct?”

Aranea sighed. “It’s risky business. What if this one isn’t the one that does it? Part of the problem with the original virus was that it got out too early. I don’t want to jump the gun with the cure, too.”

She was right, but Ignis had also been right when he’d said they didn’t have the luxury of time for any more trials. “I don’t think he’s going to last much longer the way he is now,” Gladio admitted. “I know it’s rushing into things, but I can’t stand here and watch him get worse while we’ve got a working cure.”

“That’s the thing though,” Aranea said, with a frown. “We don’t _have_ a working cure yet. Just the one we tested on Ravus, and you saw how that turned out.”

“Still.” Gladio stepped over to the side of the desk where Ignis was sleeping, gently pulling his glasses off so they wouldn’t break before scooping him up out of the chair. Iggy was long, all limbs and heavy, but he could carry him. “We test the cure on him and he might die, or we don’t test the cure on him and he _will_. I know which one I prefer.”

Aranea waved her hand. “You don’t need to convince me,” she told him. “There are a few measurements and equations I still need to double check. If I’m not able to perfect the virus— make it work on those who are already dead or turned, it means we gotta reverse it and use it on people that haven’t turned. And I don’t really know what it is we’re trying to reverse, since the initial virus itself wasn’t fully developed. It’s a lot of science bullshit, but I’m doing my best.”

“How long, then?” Gladio asked, trying and mostly failing to keep the irritation out of his tone. Ignis groaned and shifted in his arms and Gladio quieted down quickly. “We don’t have time here, Aranea,” he whispered. “As soon as it’s done, we need to test it.”

“All right.” Aranea glanced down at her papers. “Give me two hours, tops. I think I can get a working sample by then that we can try on Noctis. Just… I’m not going to be the one that’s gonna take the blame it the cure ends up killing the Prince of Lucis.”

“There is no Lucis,” Gladio said. “Just save Noct.”

He left the room. He couldn’t exactly get their bedroom door open without jostling Ignis, so he carried him downstairs instead and laid him down on the couch. He looked so much younger like this, with his hair messy and glasses off. It was about time he got some sleep. Gladio brushed his hair out of his face to press a gentle kiss to his forehead, grabbing a blanket from the corner of the couch and tucking it around Ignis’ shoulders.

Prompto appeared beside Gladio. “How is he?” He asked, his voice low and nearly a whisper.

Gladio shrugged. “He’s been better, but the same could be said for all of us. Aranea said he finally passed out on the desk about an hour ago. I doubt he’ll sleep for much longer, but we should still try not to wake him.”

Prompto nodded, casting a worried glance back at Ignis as Gladio led him out of the living room area. The blond was fidgety, and when Gladio directed him to the kitchen table, he started absentmindedly picking at the skin around his fingernails.

Gladio knew that particular nervous habit well; Ignis had mentioned it was something that he’d noticed him do often. “Hey,” he said, nudging Prompto gently in the hopes to distract him away from his fingers. “Talked to Aranea some. As soon as the cure’s done, we’ll try it on Noct. It’s the best option we have at this point. Should only be a little while longer, okay?”

Prompto swallowed. Nodded. “Y-yeah,” he said, his shoulders drooping a bit. “Thanks.”

Gladio’s attempt at comfort was weird, and they both knew it. It was different when it was relationship advice, or when it was Iris. She was his little sister, and he’d always fully embraced the protective older brother role. But nothing he could say would really help in this situation, and if he couldn’t even stop worrying himself, how could he convince someone else to?

Thankfully, Cor offered him an out by waving him over. “Come here a minute, Gladiolus.”

He glanced up to where Cor stood. “Sure,” he said, patting Prompto one more time on the shoulder as he followed Cor to the back of the house. Cor wore a stiff expression as he regarded Gladio. There was none of the fondness Gladio had been growing used to on his face now, just a grimace as his icy eyes bore into Gladio. “How are we on the cure?” He asked, lips drawn tight.

Noctis had stopped coughing. Gladio hoped it meant he was asleep. “A few hours at most,” he told him. The words felt heavy on his tongue— he’d said it enough times, and they all knew they probably didn’t _have_ hours. “Have you checked on him recently?”

Cor’s expression was unreadable. “Yes. He’s developed a fever,” he said. “I just want to be sure that you’re being as efficient as possible with this.”

Gladio knit his brows. “Hey, it’s not exactly in my hands. I’m doing the best I can. I told Aranea that we have no choice but to test the cure as soon as it’s ready, but…” he trailed off when he spotted Ignis sit up from where he had been resting on the couch, the blanket crumpling around his waist as he looked around groggily. 

“Where am I?” Ignis asked, his voice rough as he took in his surroundings.

Gladio waved from where he was standing with Cor. “In the living room,” he answered. “You fell asleep on some papers upstairs. Aranea needed the space to work, so I brought you down here.” 

It wasn’t the full truth, Aranea hadn’t necessarily said anything about Gladio whisking Ignis out of the room, but Ignis didn’t need to know that. He was already mentally preparing for the incoming panic.

_In three… two…_

Ignis shoved the covers off of himself, climbing so hastily off the couch that his leg got wrapped up in the blankets. He stumbled, nearly tripping as he freed his leg from the tangled blanket.

“You should have woken me!” He exclaimed. He glanced around near the coffee table for his glasses, finding them where Gladio had set them down and snatching them up. “Six, Gladio. I said I don’t have _time_ to sleep!”

Gladio excused himself from Cor and approached Ignis, holding his hands up in defeat. He knew Iggy would be mad, but surely he knew how much he’d needed the rest. “I picked you up and carried you all the way down here. You’re the lightest sleeper I know, Iggy. That I was able to do all that without you waking up told me you needed it. You were completely out. Look. Aranea’ still working. No one’s wasted any time.”

Prompto was beside Ignis in an instant. “Hey, Igster, you really weren’t even asleep that long!” he started, but Ignis clearly was not listening and had already made it out of the living room.

He was approaching the stairs, muttering about how abhorrent it was that no one bothered to wake him up when Gladio finally lost it. “Look here, Iggy,” he growled. “You’re not going to be able to help anyone if you neglect yourself to work on this cure. Do you even know what the hell you’re doing up there? You aren’t a scientist, you aren’t trained for that shit. Aranea won’t suddenly forget how to measure ingredients if you take a few hours for a nap.”

Ignis paused on his way up the stairs. Gladio couldn’t see his face, but he saw his fingers curl tightly around the banister. “I never asked your opinion, Gladiolus. At least _I’m_ trying to do something to help. Noct will die if we don’t finish this.”

“And so will you if you keep pushing yourself like this!” Gladio snapped back. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Prompto shrink back. “Is that what you want? To die for this cure?”

“If I must.” Ignis was speaking far too dispassionately now, and when he turned to face Gladio, he could see how completely detached he looked— a wall that only really went up around people he was unfamiliar with or who doubted his abilities as an advisor. Gladio had rarely gotten that look directed at _him_. “As long as my sacrifice will make it so Noctis will live.”

“No way,” Gladio clenched his jaw. “I’m not gonna let that slide. We’ve already talked about this. If you’d shut the hell up for five seconds and actually _listen_ to me, I could tell you that Aranea is almost done with the cure. Then we can go ahead and use it on Noct.”

Ignis blinked. Gladio could see a hint of concern in his eyes. “And we still don’t know if it’ll work?”

“We don’t,” Gladio agreed, and it hurt to admit that, but they had no other choice. “But some chance is better than no chance. I’m sure you’d agree if you’d just stop shutting down and listen to me for one second.”

Ignis sighed, and _finally_ seemed to hear what Gladio was saying. He stepped slowly back down the stairs and over to where Gladio stood in the kitchen, tilting his head up to look him in the eyes. He didn’t say a word, just stared Gladio down with wide, green eyes as he waited for Gladio to continue.

So he did. “Look. At least grab something to eat before you go back to work. I know you better than to force you to stay down here, but I just want you to take care of yourself, too. Deal?”

Ignis bit his lip, glancing from Gladio over to Cor, Nyx, and Prompto. “I…” he started, but just by the hesitation in his voice, Gladio knew he’d won him over. “All right,” he relented. “I’ll take something with me.” After a moment, he added, “You don’t have to worry about me, Gladio.”

“Someone does,” Gladio shot back. “Might as well be me.” 

Ignis stepped carefully past him and over to the cabinet where they kept the meager canned goods and non-perishables they had and grabbed a protein bar, quirking an eyebrow up at Gladio when he caught him watching. 

Mainly he just wanted to make sure Ignis took it with him, but he offered what he hoped was a reassuring smile as Ignis headed back toward the stairs. 

“It shouldn’t be much longer,” Ignis said, partially to himself and partially to Gladio. They locked eyes again but neither of them were foolish enough to voice the meager hope they held that this would work. Ignis headed back up the stairs to the lab, clutching the protein bar so tightly in his hand it might have broken right in half.

*** 

“It’s ready,” Aranea raised the vial of liquid up for them to see. “I know we all wish we could all feel more confident about this, but it’s the best we can do.”

The others were there too, giving Gladio the extra boost of comfort as they all eyed the liquid Aranea transferred into the syringe. There was no way they could all fit in the one small bedroom, so Cor and Nyx hovered near the doorway. 

Prompto was tapping his foot frenetically, Iris holding his hand to keep him from tugging at his wristband. Gladio could practically feel the nervous energy radiating off of him. Iris was uncharacteristically still, but she could see how tightly her fingers curled around Prompto’s.

Aranea got to her feet. “Should we go in there, or should we bring him in here?”

“In there,” Ignis answered quickly. “I should be the one to do it.”

Aranea handed him the vaccine and he took it. He glanced up at Gladio on his way out of the room— a hint of fear in his eyes as he walked past. Gladio reached out to offer him his hand, but Ignis pulled away and slipped down the hall. 

“There probably shouldn’t be an audience,” Aranea said. “I’m only going with him to make sure it’s taken care of. Do you two wanna join us?” She nodded toward Gladio and Prompto.

“Yes!” Prompto squeaked, his voice shrill. “I just want to talk to Noct. I know he said not to go in, but I don’t care. I just need to see him.”

They followed Aranea to the room, but she stayed in the doorway— probably to give them all some space. Ignis had already knocked and entered. As Gladio stepped inside, he could see Noctis sprawled out on the blankets, blue eyes fixed dully on the ceiling. He felt a twist in his gut, letting out a sigh of relief when he saw the gentle rise and fall of Noct’s chest.

Ignis was kneeling beside him, syringe in one hand while he used the other to feel Noctis’ forehead. “He’s got a high fever,” he informed the others. “Noct, can you sit up?”

Noctis groaned, and with Ignis’ help, maneuvered himself into a sitting position. He shivered. “Specs, guys… I hate that you have to see me like this.”

“It’s fine, dude,” Prompto said. He had crossed the room and was on Noctis’ other side in an instant, brushing his matted hair out of his face. “Seriously. We just want you to feel better.”

Noctis smiled weakly. “Thanks.”

“We’ve finished another version of the cure,” Ignis spoke carefully, calmly, but Gladio could hear the underlying tremor in his voice. “It is yours, if you want it. Though I cannot speak to its effectiveness. Still, it’s this or nothing, Noct. This is all we have.”

Noctis glanced up at Ignis, and pulled him into a hug, burying his face in his chest. “I’m scared, Specs,” he admitted. “I feel like shit. I don’t… I don’t think I have a choice. I never meant for this to happen. All I’ve done is hurt you guys.”

“Nonsense,” Ignis set the syringe on the ground, wrapping his arms fully around Noctis and burying his head in his hair. “I would do anything for you, Noct. I… only wish I could do more, but we’ve run out of time. I’m so sorry. I…” his words seemed to catch in this throat. “This world still needs you. _We_ still need you.”

Gladio’s eyes stung as he blinked back tears and knelt down beside Noct, pulling all three of them into a hug. 

“I’m so sorry, guys. I’m so sorry.” Noct sounded choked up as he spoke.

Gladio only pulled back when he felt Prompto fidgeting under his weight. “It’s fine, dude,” Prompto leaned forward to wiped Noctis’ tears from his face. “Just promise me when this works that we can play cards again and ride some chocobos. Okay?”

Noctis’ face was red from crying as he tried to smile back at Prompto. “I love you,” he said, softly. “I never got to say it enough. I love all of you. So much. More than I could ever say. I wish I had more time to show you.”

Prompto pulled him into another hug. “We know it, Noct. We feel the same way. Just get better, okay? There can totally be the rest of the world for that.”

Noctis wiped his face, swallowing and turning to look at Ignis. He held out his arm. “Okay, Ignis,” he said. “I’m ready.”

Ignis closed his eyes, taking in a deep breath before picking up the syringe. Despite the tears slipping down his face, he administered the vaccine with steady hands, and pocketed it before getting to his feet. “Noct, I… only ask that you call us should you start to have any kind of reaction,” he murmured, taking off his glasses to wipe the tears from his eyes. “Can you do that?”

Noctis nodded. “I’ll try. My voice has been kind of weak lately from all the coughing.”

Prompto pulled him into another hug, clutching at Noctis’ back. “I love you, Noct,” he breathed. “We’ll save Eos yet. You’ll see. Together.”

***

Gladio didn’t have an appetite by the time dinner finally rolled around. Judging from the lack of eating happening, neither did anyone else. Ignis sat across from him, seemingly fixated on the green peas that rolled around on his plate. No one touched their food.

Cor was the first to break the silence. With a heavy sigh, he asked, “So how long until we know?”

Aranea chewed her lip. “I can’t say for sure. But with the condition he was in, it could take quite a bit of time for the cure to kill off all the Infected cells in his body. Or…” she fell silent.  

Nyx nodded thoughtfully. “And let’s say it does work. What’s our next plan? Do we stay and fight off the hordes in Lestallum?”

“I still think we should go somewhere else,” Iris pressed. “Ignis, you said we wouldn’t get far with Noctis sick like he is. Which means when the cure works, he’ll be able to travel, right? I think we should go to the nearest town. It’ll be less populated than this. There will be more food in the marts and less Infected.”

“Old Lestallum is the closest,” Ignis replied. “But still several hours away by chocobo.”

“I’ve been there before,” Nyx said. “It is far less populated than Lestallum. And yeah, there’s a mart we could try and scrounge up some food from, maybe lie low in the motel long enough to scout out the area if we can get there. Or hell, even the Hunter’s HQ. Not a town exactly, but we can make that a base of operations, wipe out the Infected there, try to get word out to any survivors. I still think we should stay here and try to help these people, but it sounds like I’m the odd man out.”

Five days ago, Gladio would have agreed with him. But now he’d seen what this town had done to his best friend; his brother. And Iris was right. _Anywhere_ was beginning to sound a lot better than here.

“It’s as good a plan as any,” Ignis replied. “But yes, I’ve realized we cannot stay here. There’s too many Infected and not nearly enough of us. We need somewhere we have the upper hand.”

Gladio watched Ignis as he spoke. Despite all their nervous energy, Ignis seemed at least to put on the appearance that he was holding it together. He hoped that he looked the same. They both needed to be strong right now, even though they both felt anything but.

Nyx quirked a smile at Ignis. “Well, you’re the Royal Advisor, Ignis. Advise us.”

Ignis seemed a bit pleased to be given the reins. “Either would do, but I believe the Meldacio outpost might be a tad closer, and it is far less likely to be somewhere civilians would take refuge. I believe hunters have rather good odds of surviving. Better equipped to deal with creatures. If there are any of us out there still alive, I suspect hunters might be among them.”

“That’s fair,” Nyx agreed. “What do you say, Marshal?”

“I’ll do whatever it takes to get you where you need to be. If where you need to be is Meldacio, I will be sure you make it there.”

Gladio nodded. “Thanks.” Iris nodded eagerly beside him. 

They fell into silence again. After a few minutes, Ignis stood, setting his barely touched plate of food on the counter. “Right. Now that we’ve a plan of action, I should check on Noct. It’s been too long already.” He didn’t wait for the others to answer or acknowledge his statement as he went upstairs.

Nyx exhaled. Stood. “I should probably go with him,” he said. “I’ll fix up a plate for Noctis, too.” He poured out the remainder of the canned peas into a plastic bowl he got from the cabinet.

Prompto glanced up, his face twisted into a look of concern. “W-wait, Nyx!” he said, scrambling to his feet. “Noct doesn’t like vegetables. Hates them more than anything.”

Nyx paused, letting the words sink in as he looked at the beans, a small frown tugging at the corners of his mouth. “He might have to suck it up tonight, Argentum. We don’t have a whole lot of options.” Still, he set the bowl down and pulled one of the energy bars from the cabinet. “Only a few left of these,” he murmured under his breath. “It’s as good as we’ve got.”

Gladio didn’t have it in him to roll his eyes. Instead, he got to his feet and poured the bowl of peas back into the can and then scraped Ignis’ leftovers (which might as well have been the whole plate) back in as well.

Nyx headed up the stairs after Ignis, protein bar in hand. 

Iris joined Gladio near the sink, watching him carefully as he put the canned peas back in the pantry, eyeing the meager amount of food that was left. “We should probably go out on a supply run tomorrow, Gladdy,” she mused. “There’s barely enough food for all of us in there. The Infected will only get smarter at cutting us off, so we should probably get in one last run before we leave town.”

She had a point. There were at least an abundance of markets and vendor stalls here. There was no saying how much would be available to them in Meldacio. It wasn’t exactly a town, just an outpost. There probably would be fewer options for food supplies or ingredients. “Yeah,” he started to say. “You’re righ—”

He was cut off by the sound of a loud crash upstairs, followed by a garbled scream. He and Cor locked eyes, and he nearly bowled Iris over as the two of them hurtled up the stairs, Gladio summoning his greatsword as he ran.

“Stay down there!” Gladio ordered the other three as he and Cor thundered toward the back room, its door hanging ajar.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Buckle up!


	32. Chapter 32

The stench of blood was so overwhelming that Gladio felt as though he was just a breath away from doubling over, his stomach doing flips and his heart hammering in his chest as he shoved his way into the room, Cor only a few steps behind him. 

Noctis was on his feet for the first time in days, his mouth pressed to Nyx’s neck. For a few horrible seconds, Gladio couldn’t… couldn’t quite process what the hell he was seeing. Until Noctis pulled away, a chunk of Nyx’s throat tearing away with him. 

Nyx was burbling, gasping as his eyes frantically locked onto Gladio and Cor. “Shoot me!” He screamed, his voice wet. “Fuck— do it! Kill me!” 

Cor lifted his gun and shot Nyx point-blank, the bullet tearing through his head as he dropped to the ground. Noctis turned furiously toward Cor, his eyes wild. As Cor leveled the gun again, this time at Noctis, Gladio heard a gasping voice. 

“ _Don’t shoot!_ ”

Ignis.

Gladio cast about wildly, finally spotting Ignis slumped up against the far back wall. His green eyes were blown wide, filled with terror. He was frantic, panicked, his movements unsteady as he struggled to his feet.At first, Gladio thought Ignis was looking at him, but as Noctis let out a choked shriek, Gladio realized Ignis wasn’t looking at him. He was looking  _past_ him. 

“Noct!”

Gladio acted fast. He shoved Ignis back down, using his weight and momentum to drop him. Ignis’ head snapped back against the wall, and as he blinked, dazed, up at Gladio, Gladio felt something warm and sticky against his palm.

He jerked his hand back, a new wave of terror setting in as he glanced down at Ignis’ arm, noticing for the first time that his right sleeve had been shredded, blood pouring from an open wound. 

A bite. 

“ _Noct,_ ” Ignis cried again. “Cor, no, please. Don’t.” He held up a shaky hand, and in the beat it took Gladio to process what Ignis was doing, his dagger materialized in his hand. 

He slapped the dagger away from Ignis as Noctis let out another shriek. Gladio heard the sounds of a scuffle behind him as he draped Ignis’ left arm around his shoulder and hoisted him up.

“Get him out of here!” Cor barked at Gladio. 

He was _trying_ ; but Gods, Ignis wasn’t making it easy. As Gladio struggled to get a grip on him, the dagger on the ground vanished and rematerialized in Ignis’ hand, and for a split second Gladio was sure he was going to try and use it on _him_ before Ignis lost his grip on it, the blood that was dripping down his arm making everything too slippery. 

“Gladio!” Cor snapped. 

Gladio fought back another wave of nausea as Ignis continued to plead, trying to ignore how desperate he sounded as he finally got a steady grip on Ignis. He managed to get out the door just before he heard the second gunshot go off.

He couldn’t panic yet. Couldn’t puke yet, even as the scent of blood surrounded him from every angle, and Gods, he could almost fucking _taste_ it as he practically threw Ignis down on the ground of the master bathroom and just about tore the buttons off his shirt as he struggled to get it off of Ignis so he could see the extent of the damage. 

It was bad, but the bite was low enough on his arm that he still might be able to do something if he acted now. Mind racing, he grabbed Ignis’ arm and stretched it out.

Gladio tried to stay focused as he briefly glanced around the room for anything he could use before he settled on just pulling off his belt. He tightened it around Ignis’ arm above the bite and grabbed Ignis’ chin, forcing him to look at him. “Fuck, Iggy, please don’t fight me. I’m trying to save _you_ now, okay? Please. Work with me here. You’re going to be okay. I need you to quiet down.”

To his relief, Ignis seemed to jolt out of it when he met Gladio’s eyes. His panicked expression gave way to recognition as he finally seemed to process that _Gladio_ was there and that they were alone in the bathroom. 

“The belt,” Ignis stammered. “It has to be tighter, Gladio. I…” he paused. “You need… direct pressure. Your greatsword.” He was gritting his teeth as he spoke, and Gladio followed the instructions as quickly as he could, feeling that the window to save Ignis was getting smaller with each passing second. 

“It’ll be okay Iggy,” he said as he worked. He tried to keep his voice steady, knowing it was a shallow promise even as the words left his mouth. “It’ll be fine. You’ll be okay. We’ll… we’ll be okay.”

“I never…” Ignis tilted his head back, eyes fixed on the ceiling. “ _Noct_ …” he gasped out. 

“That wasn’t Noct. Not anymore. It’s just me, Iggy. Stay here with me, okay? Just me.” Gladio took one more deep breath before he raised his greatsword and brought it forcefully down through Ignis’ arm. 

***

Ignis had passed out as soon as the blade made contact with his arm. Gladio didn’t blame him, truly he was surprised Ignis had even stayed conscious as long as he had; the pain had to have been unbearable. Gladio worked diligently, going through the steps to care for and bandage the rest of Ignis’ arm. His movements felt heavy, but he pushed onward, knowing time was of the essence to make sure Ignis didn’t bleed to death after everything he’d done to save him. 

Once he was finished, he laid Ignis down on the bed and barely made it back to the bathroom as he retched into the sink, tears stinging his eyes and his throat burning as he continued to sick up for what felt like an eternity. 

Gladio pulled away from the sink when he felt a hand on his back. It surprised him to see Prompto sitting beside him, his face pale. He wordlessly offered Gladio a towel, which he took gratefully and wiped his face. “I didn’t want you to see me like this,” Gladio admitted. “Iggy… is he…?”

“Still breathing,” Prompto replied, watching Gladio carefully. “Still unconscious. His arm, though, he…”

“I had to.” Gladio collapsed onto the ground, back pressed up against the sink cabinet. “I didn’t have time to think, Prompto. I don’t even know if it worked. He could still turn. Or die. Or both. But I had to try. He was bitten, Prompto. N-” the name caught in his throat, and he promptly stood back up to retch in the sink again. He slammed his fist angrily on the counter. “What the hell was I supposed to do!” 

Prompto’s hand was on his back again. “You did what you had to,” he said. His voice was steady, a far cry from Gladio, who was sobbing and bloody, his greatsword still on the bathroom floor where he’d dropped it after chopping off Ignis’ arm. 

“I watched Nyx die,” Gladio said. His hands were shaking. “Right in front of me. I’ve seen lots of people die lately, but Nyx…” his voice caught. “And Cor… Cor…”

It wasn’t going to be a question, but Prompto took it as one. “He’s downstairs. With Iris and Aranea.”

Not Nyx, Gladio thought hazily, who had been shot dead after having his throat torn out. And not Noctis. Who had…

Prompto had pulled him into a hug. It felt strange, since Gladio had a good 25 centimeters on him and the angle was awkward and uncomfortable, but he didn’t push him away. He was just… it was too much. He was too damn tired. He was just…

***

When he came to, he was still in the bathroom, but he could feel the soft weight of a pillow under his pounding head. He was confused at first; the memories muddled as he sat up, pressing a hand to his forehead. He glanced around, seeing his greatsword— now _clean_ , propped up against the bathtub, a towel folded nearby. 

The towel he’d used to clean his face, he thought, with building dread as the events of the evening came back to him. The bathroom still carried the metallic scent of blood, and as he stumbled ungracefully to his feet, he realized Prompto must have done what he could to clean up the bathroom. Even with it _looking_ clean, it felt anything but. He wasted no time in hurrying out of there, closing the door behind him.

Ignis was still on the master bed, right where he’d left him. Gladio approached carefully, relieved to still see the gentle rise and fall of his chest as he reached out and brushed his hair back. He wasn’t dead. Not yet. He didn’t look good, though, his eyes fluttering under closed lids as Gladio stared down at him. It should have been some comfort to see that he was alive, but he… wasn’t really sure how he felt at the moment. Relieved? Terrified? _Helpless_? 

From downstairs, he thought he heard voices. He knelt down beside the bed and took Ignis’ hand in his own, holding it tightly as he swallowed back tears. “Iggy,” he breathed. “I know you probably can’t hear me, but I… I need you. I’m so fucking scared and I can’t do this without you. I can’t lose you, too.” He pressed a kiss to the back of Ignis’ hand, tucking his arm back onto the bed. “Please get better.”

He stepped back, fighting the urge to just sit there and wait until Ignis woke up. 

“Be back soon,” he told Ignis, even though he couldn’t expect an answer. He left the door open just a crack as he stepped down the hall. 

The door at the end was closed. He didn’t know what he expected. Cor had probably closed it. He stepped up to the door, staring down at the handle. What would he find if he opened it? Was it possible that Cor had already taken care of it? Or were they still in there?

He couldn’t bring himself to open the door. He didn’t want to know. He tore himself away from the room and headed down the steps. 

Downstairs, the voices had quieted as he reached the first floor. He saw Cor, Iris, Prompto and Aranea sitting at the table around the radio, and Iris was the first to make eye contact with him.

She nearly jumped out of her chair, racing over and throwing her arms around him, burying her head in his chest. “Thank the Gods,” she said, voice muffled against his body. She didn’t say anything more, didn’t have to, just cried into his chest as he wrapped his arms around her. He bit back tears again as Iris tightened her grip around him, pulling back after several long seconds. She looked up at him, wiping the tears from her face.

Cor’s expression was still stoic and calm, but even he looked weary, the corners of his mouth pointed downward.

“Iris was right, Cor,” Gladio finally said, curling his hand into a fist. “We should have left Lestallum a long time ago.”

Cor didn’t respond right away, the only indication that he had even heard Gladio was the slight twitch of an eyebrow. “How is Ignis?” he asked. 

Gladio glanced down at the ground, curling his hand into a fist. “Asleep. Alive. But we don’t have the right supplies to treat his arm properly. I did what I could, but we can’t move him yet. Trying to carry him would just slow us all down. As soon as he’s back on his feet, we get the hell out of here and we never look back.”

“Prompto filled us in on what you did to try and save Ignis,” Cor said. “While that’s noble of you, you may need to accept that you may not have been fast enough, or that there will be further complications.”

“I know.”

“Are you willing to take the responsibility for whatever may come after?”

“I am.” 

They were all looking at him, but Gladio couldn’t bring himself to look them in the eyes. “It’s just… I couldn’t lose him. I know we aren’t supposed to put our own lives above the king, but I had a chance with Ignis that I didn’t have with Nyx or with—” the name caught in his throat again. “I wasn’t about to let that chance slip by without doing everything I could. Still might not be good enough, but…” he shook his head. “I gotta try.”

Prompto nodded. “That’s what Noct would’ve wanted,” he said softly, reaching for the dials on the radio to keep his hands busy. “For us to look after each other. And like, keep going. For us, now. And so I’m gonna—” his voice cracked. “I’m gonna try. For him. We can still go to Meldacio. And in the meantime, while we’re waiting for Iggy, we can… keep listening to the radio. Maybe we’ll hear something from other survivors. It’s still worth it to keep checking, even if it seems hopeless.”

It did seem hopeless. Without Ignis as the voice of reason, or Noctis as his friend and purpose, Gladio just felt incredibly lost. He glanced up at Prompto, at the radio that he was so useless fiddling with. 

It didn’t _matter_. None of it did. 

“We won’t hear anything,” he snapped, startled by how harsh he sounded even to his own ears. “If we, people who trained for _life_ to handle shit like this can’t even survive, why do you think there are people out there who managed it?” He clenched his other fist now, stomping over to where Prompto sat near the radio. “Probably not even hunters. That’s just wishful thinking. There ain’t some secret city out in the middle of nowhere that just happened not to get hit by the virus. We’re it. No one else is out there!” 

He swung his arm out, his fist connecting with the radio as it went flying and clattered against the floor on its side. 

As soon as it hit the floor, the silence of the radio shifted to an awful static whir, as what sounded like a voice started to cut in and out. “—wh… ca… is… an… Al—” 

Prompto raced over, picking up the radio and turning the dials, shaking it gently when that did nothing to make the voice clearer. They stared at the radio as Prompto continued to fuss with the dials and change the station until at last they could make out the voice. It sounded faraway, quiet enough to miss if they weren’t listening closely.

“—out there, we’ve heard about the destruction on the mainland. Should there be any survivors out there that can hear us, Altissia is safe. If anyone can hear us, we have been untouched by the virus. You may take refuge with us. If there are any survivors…” 

Prompto looked up, his jaw dropping open. “Altissia?” He exclaimed. “Do you think they’ve been trying to reach people for a long time?”

“Hold on a minute,” Gladio interrupted. “We don’t know how long ago this was recorded. Who’s to say the virus hasn’t gotten there by now? What if people hear it who have already been Infected, and they make their way to Altissia like we do, only to die and wipe out that city, too?”

Cor straightened, joining Prompto where he sat beside the radio. “No. I recognize that voice. It’s Weskham Armaugh. I used to know him well— he’s not about to just let anyone into the city. I wouldn’t be surprised in the least if there was some kind of quarantine put into effect— that’s might even why it’s taken so long for him to send word out.”

Gladio knew the name. Clarus had mentioned him quite often, said something about how he’d gone off the grid a few years back only for them to reconnect after Weskham had established himself as the owner of a well-off restaurant.

Prompto picked the radio back up, glancing at Gladio warily as he did so. “If it’s safe there, we should go. Seems like we’d have more luck there than just hoping for the best at the Hunter’s HQ. We just need a way to get there.”

“There’s Galdin,” Gladio suggested. “But it’s a fancy-ass beach resort. Probably a lot of Infected there. If there are even any ships left there, I doubt we could get one. And we have to think about Iggy, too. We can’t carry him all the way to Galdin Quay. We don’t have a car. I doubt a chocobo could carry two people at once.”

Cor held up a hand to stop him, shaking his head. “I agree that it would be foolish to try to get to the Quay. I know a different way. A hidden harbor. It’s significantly closer to Lestallum, and everyone else that knows about it is dead. I’m positive the ship will still be there.”

Gladio nodded. “All right, then. As soon as Ignis can move, I guess we’re going to Altissia.”


	33. Chapter 33

“Gladio?” 

Gladio jolted his head up at his name. He almost thought it had been Ignis who had spoken before he shook away the grogginess and saw Ignis still asleep on the bed. Everyone had retired to bed, even though he knew none of them were likely to actually sleep after everything that had happened that day. Gladio had planned to stay awake and keep a close eye on Ignis, but he must’ve fallen asleep, he thought, as he spotted Prompto letting himself into the room.

He came over and sat cross-legged on the floor beside Gladio. “I didn’t mean to startle you. How’s Ignis?” Prompto asked, even though they were both staring at Ignis and could see what state he was in. 

“Still out,” Gladio answered anyway, with a heavy sigh. “He woke up a few times, but…” he shook his head. “He was still pretty out of it. Wasn’t awake long enough to really talk to him. Probably for the best, though. It’s gonna hurt like hell when he fully comes to. I did the best I could with the bleeding and bandaging, but stuff we learned in training didn’t exactly cover losing a limb. And we were expecting Luna to still be here. In case anything like this happened.”

“Yeah,” Prompto rubbed the palm of his hand with his thumb, watching the gentle rise and fall of Ignis’ chest. “How are _you_ doing?” He asked.

Gladio shook his head, standing up quickly. He was used to being able to work through his emotions by training, taking a few hits, seeing Ignis’ easy smile as he bested him in training yet again. But not here. Hitting things wouldn’t make it hurt any less. 

“I don’t wanna talk about my feelings,” he said, and it came out sounding aggressive, far more so than he’d intended. He didn’t mean to sound that angry, but Six, he was scared. For Ignis, for the rest of them… How were they going to move on after this?

Prompto bit his lip and nodded. “Right. Sure. No problem, dude. We don’t have to.” He was holding his hands up in defeat, and Gladio felt the anger deflate as he sat back down on the floor, his shoulders slumping.

They sat beside each other. Prompto didn’t speak, and had actually gone rather uncharacteristically still. Gladio glanced at Prompto out of the corner of his eye, who had his gaze fixed attentively at some spot on the ground. 

At first Gladio thought it may be blood in the carpeting, but as he tried to subtly look down at the spot Prompto was so transfixed by, nothing stood out. The carpet was spotless. 

He almost didn’t catch Prompto’s next words with how quietly he spoke them. “No one else is talking about him.” he rubbed the palm of his hand with his thumb. “Not you, not Cor, not even Iris. They just keep going on about plans and duty and… I don’t know if they just don’t want to upset me, or if that’s just how you guys are supposed to react when people die, but. I can’t stand it, dude. I just. We need to talk about this. About _Noct_.”

Gladio listened quietly. Prompto was right. No one was talking about him. Gladio certainly couldn’t bring himself to; it was still too raw. And Cor had witnessed the death of several kings now, but that didn’t mean it was any easier for him. It might even be harder. “Out of everyone we’ve lost,” he started, “Losing Noct has probably been the hardest for Iris. She’s known him since she was five years old. She did this when we lost our mother. Doesn’t talk about it, just tries to make sure she’s as helpful and focused as possible.” He cleared his throat. “But Prompto. Just because I don’t want to talk about Noct doesn’t mean you have to. You can talk if you want. I ain’t gonna say anything, but I’ll listen.”

Prompto’s head shot up, and now that they were looking at each other, Gladio could see his blue eyes filled with tears. “Really?”

Gladio nodded. 

Prompto exhaled shakily. “I- I just. Feel so _stupid_ and useless. I wasn’t even in the room, but we all heard the screaming. I can’t get it out of my head. I’ve never heard Ignis scream like that. I never want to again. And,” he bit back a sob. “I guess what gets to me the most was that I wasn’t there. Noct died alone. After all those times we’d promised to stay by his side, he was alone. I should’ve been there. I should have been in the room with him. H- he had to have turned really quickly, in only a matter of hours, but I should have checked! I even thought about it. And I… I didn’t, because I guess a part of me didn’t really believe that we could actually lose him. I just… thought the cure would work, and that Iggy would go in there and it’d be fine, and we could laugh about it later. Maybe not laugh, but. You know. I…” he sniffed. 

It was like Prompto had taken all the words that were stuck in Gladio’s throat and voiced them. They all had a different version of Noct in their hearts, but it was still him. It hurt just the same. He put an arm around Prompto, who tucked his head into him, still shaking and sniffling. 

“I wouldn’t even be here if it weren’t for Noct,” Prompto continued, quietly. “Wouldn’t have trained for the Crownsguard, wouldn’t have met you guys. Wouldn’t be anything, really. Probably wouldn’t have even made it out of Insomnia. But you guys, you let me in and made me feel like I was a part of something, even though sometimes I felt like I didn’t deserve to be. Like one day you’d all start laughing and tell me it was all a big joke. But you… never did.”

“That’s ’cause it wasn’t a joke,” Gladio answered, because that part of it was easy for him to talk about. “You’re a good kid. And you brought out good things in him.”

Prompto was silent as he processed the words, pulling his head away from where he’d tucked it against Gladio’s chest. “I just wish I could have given him as much as he gave me.”

“You did,” Gladio replied. “Sure of it.”

Prompto shrugged. “I just. Should have been there with him.” He paused. “… Do you think it hurt?”

“No,” Gladio answered quickly, even though he hadn’t the slightest idea. He was sure Prompto knew he was only saying it to comfort him— and in part, to comfort himself. He couldn’t bring himself to think about Noctis being alone and in pain in his last moments. “And even if we weren’t there, I’m sure he knew we were doing everything we could do. Ignis spent every waking moment on that cure, and you and I went to see him whenever we could. But we can’t change anything now. We have to believe we did everything we could.”

“Aranea still wants to make the cure,” Prompto said. “How long until we leave?” 

Gladio shrugged. “We’ll have to see what state Iggy’s in.”

“Right.” 

***

He’d pulled up a chair after Prompto left to sit beside the bed. He wanted to be awake the next time Ignis woke, but that was only part of it. He doubted he could fall back asleep tonight anyway, and having something to focus on kept him from having to think about the thing he very much did _not_ want to think about. 

He hadn’t gone into the room at all since he’d carried Ignis out of it. He wasn’t sure he ever would. Seeing that room and seeing it empty… he couldn’t do it. He would just pull it together and keep pushing on. They could just… get out to Altissia. They’d be safe there. As long as what Cor said was true and there were enough precautions to keep out people who might be Infected. 

And in the meantime, he’d just keep on going like he always did. After all, everyone was counting on him. Iris was counting on him. If he had to be strong for anyone, he’d do it for her. Which meant that he had to be stronger than _this_. 

Ignis groaned, Gladio’s head shot up, his heart sinking when he could make out the name Ignis was calling out for: Noctis. He was out of his chair and at Ignis’ side in an instant, pressing a hand to his forehead. 

“Iggy, I’m here. What do you need?”

Ignis glanced at him, but it was like he didn’t _see_ him, as he clenched his teeth and hissed in pain. He opened his mouth to speak, but couldn’t quite seem to get the words out. He groaned again. “Noct?”

He wasn’t sure how much Ignis remembered, but he figured he had about three seconds before Ignis would try to get up, and he could very much not do that. He shook his head. “He bit you, Iggy. I had to. Your arm, I…”

Ignis winced again, his gaze slowly shifting as he turned his head toward his missing arm. His mouth fell open and he let out a noise somewhere between a sob and a groan. “It hurts,” he choked out. He opened his mouth to say more, but all he could manage was another pained gasp. 

“Shh,” Gladio murmured. “Don’t talk. I had to do it, it was the only choice I had after he bit you.”

“N-” Ignis started. “Wh-”

_Where’s Noctis._  Ignis could have been trying to say anything, but Gladio knew him. It was always Noct. For both of them. And now—

“He’s…” Gladio started, but before he could even begin to formulate a response, he felt Ignis’ hand go limp. His heart started to race as he frantically lit one of the candles to better assess the situation, letting out a sigh of relief when he realized Ignis had apparently passed out again. 

He couldn’t imagine how much pain Ignis was in. Gladio dropped back down against the side of the bed, wrapping the blankets tightly around himself and watched the flames of the candle flicker until it burned out.

***

Gladio must have fallen asleep again after all. He awoke with a start around the time the sun started to rise. His neck was stiff, his back hurt. He hadn’t meant to sleep at all, and especially not in a chair, but he must have needed it. He stood, stretching his back. 

He should probably run through some stretches— anything to keep his mind busy so he wouldn’t have to think about yesterday. He had to at least pretend to be okay. He was far from it, but he couldn’t let that show. Not to Iris, or Cor, or anyone. The only person he could be real with was unconscious on the bed in front of him. 

He didn’t know much about limb loss, but he figured it would probably be a good idea to redress Ignis’ arm, at least take a look at it and make sure it was healing. It was a setback— Ignis had trained all his life to dual-wield, and he relied heavily on backflips and other fancy acrobatics to move lithely around the battlefield. He’d have to fight differently. He’d have to relearn how to do everything with his non-dominant hand, and that could take time that they didn’t have.

Gladio shook the thoughts from his head. _Focus_. He came around to the other side of the bed, where Ignis’ arm was bandaged up with gauze and torn-up bedsheets. He’d done an okay job, considering he had less experience in dealing with this than Ignis or Lunafreya had. Still, he knew he should probably redress it, right? He didn’t have to be a healer to know that much. They’d learned a bit of first aid in training, just nothing this extensive. 

He grimaced as he touched the makeshift bandage, lifting Ignis’ arm up. He shifted himself so he was on the bed and close enough to start unwrapping the gauze when Ignis scrunched up his face and let out a pained groan. 

Gladio gently put his arm back down. “Iggy?”

Ignis groaned again, but didn’t say anything that he could make out. Frowning, Gladio reached up to brush the hair out of his eyes and paused. Ignis felt hot. _Really_ hot. Fever hot. He definitely hadn’t had a fever yesterday. 

His eyes trailed back down to his bandaged arm, and with new determination, he unwrapped the gauze, tossing the bloody cloth aside as he examined the remaining part of Ignis’ arm, his worry only growing when he noticed that the skin around where he’d cut was inflamed and angry, and handling it wrenched a few more pained gasps from Ignis’ mouth.

He glanced around the room for the water bottles that he’d used to clean the wound before, grabbing one of them off the nightstand and cleaned the wound with some of the water. The redness wasn’t washing away, which meant it wasn’t blood. But that didn’t make it better.

“Gladio…?” Ignis breathed, his voice shaky. 

Gladio looked up, pressing a gentle hand to his forehead. “Iggy. You’re burning up.”

Ignis clenched his teeth. “Am I?” He murmured. “I was going to say I feel cold. I think it’s…”

Gladio pulled the blankets tighter around Ignis. “Yeah,” he finished. “I know. I think you have a fever.”

“I must,” Ignis replied. He tilted his head up to look at the ceiling, his brow furrowed. “I… I can’t really remember what happened. I know I…” his eyes shot wide, and he bolted upright. “Noct!” He exclaimed. “Where is he! Is he all right? I must… I need to…!” He tried to push himself out of bed, collapsing back onto it when he processed that his right arm was still missing. “Wh-what?”

Gladio pressed a hand to his chest, gently urging him to lean back against the headboard. “Ignis,” he said softly. “I… he bit you. We still don’t know if you’re safe or not, but we have to figure out whether the fever is because of the virus, or because of your arm.”

Ignis looked at him, but it was like he didn’t fully understand what Gladio was implying. “I have to go to Noct,” he said. “Arm or no. He needs me. I…”

Gladio kept his palm pressed against Ignis’ chest. “You can’t. He’s… he’s gone, Iggy. He turned.”

Ignis shoved Gladio’s arm off of him. “ _No_ ,” he snapped. “You’re wrong! I—” he paused. Tried again: “He…”

“Ignis!” Gladio snapped, throwing his arms out on the headboard on either side of Ignis. “Iggy. Listen to me. I did everything I could to save you. We couldn’t save him. How much…” he swallowed. “How much do you remember?”

Ignis glanced past Gladio at the doorway, but they both knew he was in no state to force his way past Gladio and make it all the way out the door. His eyes flicked back over to meet Gladio’s, his lips pinched together. “Only that I went upstairs to see how Noct was faring after we administered the cure. I… remember that he didn’t answer when I knocked. I got worried. Perhaps I wasn’t as careful as I should have been, but I…” he gritted his teeth. “I don’t remember. Nyx intervened. Everything hurt.”

Gladio stepped back, sitting on the edge of the bed now that Ignis wasn’t actively fighting him to get up. “He must have turned quickly. Probably as fast as that Glaive at the party. Delilah.”

Ignis’ eyes widened. “No!” He exclaimed. “There must still be something we can do. We can… perhaps we can turn him back. We haven’t perfected the cure so there’s no knowing whether it _has_ to be someone who hasn’t turned! We can keep him in there! The Infected can learn, which means there’s a part of him that’s still Noc—”

Gladio covered Ignis’ mouth with his hand, shaking his head. 

Ignis whimpered and pried Gladio’s hand off his mouth. He was sweating, but Gladio wasn’t sure whether it was from the fever or the panic as Ignis frantically shook his head, his eyes wide. “No,” he breathed. “It’s not… not Noct. _Please_.”

It was killing him to hear Ignis pleading like this.

“If there was something I could have done, I would’a done it,” Gladio replied. It was a weak excuse, and they both knew it. “Believe me, Iggy. Shield is supposed to fall before the king. I should be dead right now, not him. But I’m not. Neither of us are. We can’t go back.” He reached for the bottle of painkillers on the nightstand. “These might help for the pain,” he said, shaking the bottle.

Ignis recoiled, shaking his head. “ _No_ ,” he said emphatically. “I cannot sleep. Not while… not…” His voice broke, and he squeezed his eyes shut, gritting his teeth. “G-Gladio.”

Gladio leaned forward, reaching for Ignis as he buried his head in his chest. He was glad he wasn’t there when Cor shot him. Regardless of whether or not he was still _their_ Noct, Gladio didn’t think he’d be able to handle it if he had. It still hadn’t even fully hit him yet. He couldn’t let it, though. He had a job to do; there were still too many people that needed him to stay strong. 

He tightened his arms around Ignis. “You need to rest,” he told him. “We need to get that fever down, okay? Just. Just lay back down. I’ll take care of you.”

Ignis pulled back from Gladio. “My arm.”

“I think it might be infected,” Gladio admitted. “It felt hot. I’ll redress it for you before I leave.”

Ignis glanced at his left arm, grimacing. “If it’s infected from the amputation, it typically requires an antibiotic. But we need more supplies than what we have. And a doctor, if it truly is infected. But I… can’t really think. My head feels heavy.”

“It’s the fever,” Gladio said. “A damp cloth might help. I can use some of the water…”

“Don’t waste it,” Ignis replied. “I’d rather us drink the water than use it to help the fever.” He winced again. “If you aren’t going to let me up, I’ll take some of those painkillers.”

Gladio nodded. “Yeah. You’re not going anywhere.” He measured out the dosage and handed it to Ignis. “Here. I hope it helps.”

“As do I.” Ignis took the medicine and settled back down. He still looked tired, but hopefully that would take the edge off the pain enough for him to get some more rest. He looked like he needed it.

“You need anything else?” Gladio asked as he pulled the blankets up around Ignis and pressed a kiss to his forehead. “I’m telling you right now that you better not try to get out of bed.” He paused. “But before you try to sleep, I should tell you. We got a broadcast from some survivors. A friend of the king’s: Weskham. He said Altissia is safe.”

Ignis stifled a yawn, his brow furrowed. “What?” He breathed, his eyes wide. “When?”

“Yesterday,” Gladio replied. “After everything.”

Ignis blinked at him. “Gladio, you have to go. All of you. Leave me if you must. You cannot stay here for my sake. It’s much too dangerous. I know I won’t make it to Galdin. Not in my condition. If I am to die, I want it to be here.” A beat. “With Noct.”

“No.” Gladio crossed his arms, meeting Ignis’ gaze. “That’s not happening. You don’t get to die on us.” He uncrossed his arms. Balled his hands into fists on his lap. “We’re not going to Galdin either. You don’t have to worry about that. There’s a secret harbor— Cor said no one else knows about it. There’s a boat there that we can take to Altissia.”

“And what of the cure?” Ignis asked. 

Gladio shrugged. “What about it? We either have it or we don’t. We’re gonna leave as soon as you’re back on your feet. It’ll give Aranea a little more time to refine it. There’s no saying whether it’ll work. Or even if we’ll ever actually find a cure to this, but at least we can live in Altissia.”

Ignis nodded.

“How’s your arm?” Gladio asked.

Ignis sighed. “It… feels a bit better, perhaps. I’m not sure. The pain is not like anything I’ve felt. Throbbing. Burning.”

“I did everything I could,” Gladio said. He wasn’t sure who he was trying to convince. But if the painkillers were working, that was a good sign. 

Ignis reached up to brush his cheek. “I know.”

Gladio waited there at the bedside until Ignis finally drifted off again. No matter what Ignis said, they weren’t going to leave him. He _couldn’t_ , regardless of whether it was the safer thing to do. He exhaled shakily and then set about re-wrapping Ignis’ arm, trying to be as gentle as possible so as not to wake him. There was still work to do.


	34. Chapter 34

When Gladio opens his eyes, the first thing he notices is that Ignis’ labored breathing has come to a stop. He jolts upright, nearly falling out of bed as he scrambles over to the side Ignis is sprawled out on, his heart hammering in his chest as he reaches out to him. 

Ignis is laying still. Too still, and Gladio tries to keep his hands steady as he presses one hand to Ignis’ chest and the other to the pulse point in his neck as he silently wills his own heart to calm down long enough for him to focus on finding a pulse. 

There is none. 

Gladio wants to light the candle by the bedside to get a better look, but he knows he doesn’t have time for that. Might not even have time for this, he thinks, as he pulls his hands away and locks his hands together on Ignis’ chest now, quick repetitions that have been drilled into his head from all the years of training with Cor and his father. 

He pauses to tilt Ignis’ head back and administers the rescue breaths, his head spinning. As he is about to pull back, he feels something twist in his hair, and he jerks his head backward. 

The dim flicker of the candle illuminates Ignis’ face, and Gladio sees that his eyes are open, fixed upon him with mild curiosity but no recognition. Under his hands, Ignis’ heart is still not beating.

“Iggy,” he starts, and Gods, what can he use from the armiger? It’s not his greatsword that materializes in his hands, but rather Ignis’ dagger as the emerald eyes of the figure underneath him follows his movements. 

Gladio doesn’t like how Ignis is looking at him. But then again— is it really even Ignis anymore? 

          “Gladio.”

He drives Ignis’ dagger through his forehead as he feels the thump of his heart under the palm of his hand. 

          “ _Gladio!_ ”

Gladio jolted awake, gasping for breath as he feels hands on him, around him, and he fought them blindly for a moment, still reeling from shock as his eyes adjusted to the soft natural light of sunrise that was peeking through the curtains.

Once he caught his breath, he glanced around to see Iris standing at his bedside, her eyes wide with worry as she hands him a glass of water. He grabbed the glass from her and downed the whole thing before he even thought to ask her where she’d gotten it. 

He supposed it didn’t matter, right? If she’d offered it to him, clearly they had enough to spare. He didn’t realize he was shaking until Iris wrapped a blanket around his shoulders and sat on the foot of the bed beside him. “I couldn’t sleep. I was going to head downstairs when I heard you in here. You’d sounded really upset. Was it a nightmare?”

Gladio quickly glanced over at the other side of the bed, where Ignis slept curled on his left side, breathing ( _breathing_ , Gladio had to remind himself) quietly but steadily. He reached over to Ignis, almost forgetting that Iris was even still in the room as he rested his hand on Ignis’ cheek, only pulling away when his eyelashes started to flutter. 

“Yeah,” he finally said to Iris. “But fuck, it felt real.”

A frown tugged at the corner of Iris’ lips. “The sun’s just about up,” she said. She tugged at the corner of her skirt. “Listen, Gladdy, I know this has been hard for us, but you don’t have to pretend it’s not hard for you, too. I’m not _that_ young. I just want you to know you can talk to me, okay?”

Gladio shrugged. He didn’t mean to brush her off, but even though Ignis was alive and all of that had been a dream, he couldn’t shake off the sense of unease that had settled upon him. “I can’t do this,” he muttered. 

He couldn’t just sit by and let his dream play out. He wasn’t going to let Ignis die on his watch, and he sure as hell wouldn’t let him turn either. Which meant that they needed some real first aid for Ignis, and then they needed to get the hell out of this house and to Altissia. 

Iris was pressing on his back again, and he glared over at her as she met his gaze with her own determined expression. “Well…it’s a good thing I’m here to help then, isn’t it?” She said.

He barked out a laugh. Was that a challenge?

Iris huffed. “ _What_?”

“You,” Gladio replied. “I’m stronger than you.”

“Physically, maybe,” Iris shot back. “But you can’t do this yourself, dummy. I won’t let you. You weren’t the only one dad was tough on, you know. He taught me a lot, too.”

Iris may not have been the shield, but Iris knew her stuff. His hands had stopped shaking as he managed a smile and raised an eyebrow at her. “You sure about that?” He teased.

She was right, though, he couldn’t do it alone— as much as he wanted to. He needed the support. Ignis needed proper supplies and medical attention. He would have to figure out a way to get both of those things, but right now Iris was offering him one of them. He would be stupid not to take her up on it.

Before he could even voice his decision, Iris tackled him into a hug, wrapping her arms around him as much as she could manage. “I hope you know that I’ll fight anyone that tries to hurt you. So. Let’s do this together, okay?”

Gladio wrapped his arms around Iris, using his other hand to wipe away stray tears. “Fine,” he agreed. “We need better supplies to treat Iggy’s arm. I think it’s getting infected. Not from the virus, just from my greatsword, probably. We need to do something about that. I hate wasting time that we could be using to get to Altissia, so we need to act quick.”

Iris pulled away with a smile. “That’s the brother I know.” She punched his shoulder. “Okay, how about I stay with Ignis while you talk to Cor? It sounds like you have a plan…?”

Gladio nodded. “Right,” he said, climbing out of the bed. “It ain’t exactly a good one, but it’s all I got. Thanks Iris.” He barely waited for her response before he was clambering down the stairs. He didn’t need to check if Cor would be awake, he already knew he would be before he even spotted him sitting at the kitchen table. 

Gladio pulled out a chair and plopped down in the seat in front of Cor. “We need to talk about our plan of action,” he said. 

“We really should get a move on,” Cor said, gesturing to the radio on the table. “We don’t know how much longer Weskham will broadcast and keep Altissia open. I’m sure there are security measures in place. Once we’re there, Highwind can continue to develop the cure properly in a real lab, with an actual team. She’s far more likely to succeed that way.”

“That’s what I want to talk about,” Gladio replied. “I know I was in favor of staying, but we both know Lestallum isn’t the refuge we hoped it would be. I’m not leavin’ Iggy here though, that’s for sure. Not after everything.”

Cor pressed the heel of his palms to his forehead. “What Ignis needs is a doctor. He can get one in Altissia.”

Gladio was already shaking his head before Cor even finished speaking. “Let’s say we go. We manage to get Ignis up on a chocobo and he’s able to hold on despite having a fever and a missing arm. We get to the harbor and we set sail to Altissia. What makes you think they won’t shoot him on sight if they see him in that state? You said it yourself— there are probably security measures in place. If they know he was bitten, even if he ain’t gonna turn, are they really gonna stop to ask questions? There’s a reason Altissia is safe while the rest of the world went to shit, and I’m sure it’s not because of their good graces.”

Cor was silent and Gladio knew that was a good sign. That he hadn’t immediately shot Gladio down meant he was at least thinking about what he’d said. “He needs medical supplies that we don’t have, Gladiolus. And he’ll need to relearn how to fight with one arm.”

“We both know he’s a fast learner. Nothing’s ever stopped him before,” Gladio replied. “But you’re right. We need supplies. Something for infection, more painkillers, gauze for his arm.” He rubbed his forehead, and after a pause, met Cor’s eyes. “You remember why we went out to the airship?”

Cor studied him, as if trying to follow Gladio’s train of thought. “The first-aid kit.”

“Right,” Gladio swallowed back his anger at his memories of what went down there. “But Ardyn got it before we could.” He paused again while he tried to reconcile the fact that he was even suggesting this. “And both Luna and Ravus have said that he used to be a healer.”

Cor caught on to what he was getting at and narrowed his eyes. “Absolutely not,” he said. “We’ve already burned that bridge and then some. If Lord Ravus, who I’ll remind you was initially on his side, said he was dangerous, just imagine how dangerous he will be now that we’ve made him our enemy.”

“Iggy needs those supplies,” Gladio argued. “And you could use them, too. Pissed or not, if Ardyn is still in Lestallum, chances are he’d welcome a way out. We have that leverage with the hidden harbor. He treats Iggy’s arm with the medicine he’s got, we agree to take him with us. We both win. He’d be an idiot to pass that up.”

“Gladiolus,” Cor warned. “It’s not smart to go looking for him. We don’t know what he’s been doing, and we could walk right into a trap of his. Or he could simply kill us without waiting to hear us out.” He sighed. “You’re making the same face your mother always used to make. Listen. If you’re determined to do this, I won’t stop you. But I will ask you this— is finding Ardyn worth the risk? I am not judging you on what you say, I just need you to be prepared for any outcome you might not want.”

Gladio bowed his head. “I know. And you’re right, I do need to be prepared for whatever happens. But I’m willing to risk it. For Ignis, for Iris, anyone. And if we no longer have to put our jobs before each other, I’m choosing him. And if anyone tries to hurt him— or Iris— I’ll step in. They’ll wish they hadn’t.”

Cor crossed his arms and leaned in toward Gladio. “All right,” he said. “Then I’m with you. Where do you suppose we start looking?”

***

As it was, Gladio hadn’t the slightest idea where they should even begin to track down the chancellor. He knew he would need some backup, at the very least. Normally with Cor on his side, he’d be set, but with his arm still healing from its break, he wasn’t in top condition.

So he would ask Prompto too. He knew Iris probably would jump at the chance, but he could really use the backup from someone who was _trained_ for combat, and if he was being honest, Prompto could probably use the distraction just as much as he could. 

As he knew from experience, anything was better than sitting around and wallowing. He found Prompto in his room, sitting on the bottom bunk bed. He had the sheets pulled up around him up. Just staring. 

Gladio thought he was staring at him, but Prompto startled when Gladio came over. He had planned to sit on the bed, but it seemed too small for the both of them now that he was up next to him, so he just stood awkwardly beside the bed. “Hey. Didn’t mean to startle ya.”

“I-I’m not startled!” Prompto exclaimed. He dropped the fistfuls of sheets he held in his hands and jumped off of the bed. “What do you need, big guy?”

Gladio wasn’t really convinced, but it wasn’t his place to argue. It’s not like he was doing much better. “We need to find Ardyn,” he said. “I know we kicked him out. Was fully on board with it, even. But now with plans to go to Altissia, Iggy won’t live if he doesn’t get help from an actual healer. I can patch up wounds, but this is outta my depth.”

Prompto shot up off the bed and had already started grabbing his backpack from off the desk. “I’m in. I’ll bring this in case we find anything,” he said. “When are you going?”

Gladio almost laughed in disbelief. “We can go now.” 

As Prompto gathered his things, Gladio popped back into his room to ask Iris if she would continue to watch Ignis while they were gone. He could see the disappointment on her face at the prospect of being left behind, but he could count on her, and— a bit selfishly— he didn’t want to put her in any more danger than was absolutely necessary. 

Once she agreed to keep an eye on Ignis, Gladio grabbed his greatsword from where it was propped up in the corner of his room. He hadn’t touched it since he’d used it to cut off Ignis’ arm, and even just holding it again had him fighting off the nausea that threatened to creep up.

He’d used it on countless Infected, slicing them down without even a second thought, but now it felt heavy in his hands, and his grip was unsure even as his fingers curled around the handle. It was fine. _He_ was fine. It was just a greatsword.

He gave himself a minute to readjust to the weight of it— It had gone through Ignis’ arm like butter. It could go through the rest of him that easily too— before he headed back to Prompto.

When Gladio and Prompto got downstairs, Cor looked like he was already set to go. He didn’t have his Katana today, which was probably for the best, but he had a gun in his good hand. He glanced up as the two of them reached the bottom of the stairs. 

“Before we go,” he said. “We need a direction. I highly doubt Izunia would settle down anywhere near the market if he values his life, so we can safely steer clear of that area for now. But none of us know him or his patterns, so your guess is as good as mine.”

Gladio really hadn’t thought it through all that much. He was a man of action, which worked great in the midst of battle, but not when they were trying to strategize. They couldn’t exactly just barge on into each house and call for Ardyn— that would only get them killed.

“The last time we saw him, he was at the airship,” Prompto chimed in, meeting Cor’s cool gaze. “So… if we look anywhere first, it might be a good bet to start searching around there. If he’s still in Lestallum, he might’ve found a place near there to hunker down.”

It was a good a plan as any, and Gladio didn’t have any better suggestions. It made the most sense to look where they last saw him. It wasn’t a guarantee, but his last location was really the only lead they had. He shrugged. “Good enough.”

Cor got to his feet, and Gladio ignored the way he tried to hide a grimace as he did so. He must still be a bit stiff from the injuries he’d sustained; he wasn’t exactly as young as he used to be. Cor cocked his gun and went to stand over near the door, using his head to gesture for the other two to come closer. 

“You know the drill,” he said. “Quiet for as long as we can be, kill any Infected that tries to attack.” 

Gladio nodded. He took a deep breath. He’d done this several times now, and yet he never really got used to the rush of fear that would swirl up, unannounced, in the pit of his stomach. As he steadied his greatsword, Prompto reached up to summon his gun and—

Nothing.

Prompto blinked, tried to summon it again. Still, the weapon did not materialize in his hand. He pulled his arm down to stare at his empty palms. Several seconds passed while he stood frozen, eyes fixed on his hands before he crumpled to his knees and curled his arms tightly around himself. 

Gladio frowned. Did this mean… they couldn’t…? 

Just to test it out, he tried to pull one of Prompto’s machinery weapons out of the armiger. But just like it had happened with Prompto, Gladio’s hand only closed around empty air. 

Without missing a beat, Cor was at Prompto’s side, a hand on his shoulder as he pressed his own gun into the blond’s hands. “You can use mine,” he told him. 

Prompto shook his head, and when he spoke, his voice sounded strained. “No, you need it. I’ll just…” his words fizzled out before he could finish his sentence. 

He didn’t need to; Gladio knew exactly how he was feeling. They no longer had access to the armiger or any of the weapons or supplies they’d stashed in there. They’d gotten used to that luxury, and it was a punch in the gut that they’d lost even that.

Cor was still insisting that Prompto take his gun. “We’ve got another one too,” he said. “The one that Ravus grabbed from the Infected. You can take your pick, but mine is more similar to the one you had.”

Gladio offered Prompto a hand, and after only a moment’s hesitation, Prompto sniffed and took it, allowing Gladio to help him up. 

“It’s a stupid thing to cry about,” Prompto muttered under his breath. “It’s just like. I feel like every part of him has been taken away from us.”

“I know,” Gladio replied gently. “Me too. But you need to focus. You should take the gun. You’ll need to fight if you’re still up for coming with us.”

Prompto swallowed, finally taking the gun Cor had been trying to give him. “You’re right,” he said. “No backing out now.”

When they opened the door, they spotted a group of Infected at the corner of an alley, just about twenty feet from them. They had their backs turned, and they appeared to be focusing on something else. That was their opening. 

Wordlessly, Gladio took the lead, scanning their surroundings to make sure it wasn’t an ambush before he slipped into the closest, not Infected infested alley. 

He almost couldn’t hear Prompto and Cor behind him, and he was impressed that even after Prompto breaking down a few moments ago, he didn’t even hear a sniffle from him as they followed the twists and turns of the alley. 

He wasn’t as familiar with this side of town, but he still knew the general direction of the airship from the last time they had come this way. He had to hold his greatsword at an awkward angle now that he couldn’t vanish it until he was safely out in the open. It was a bit hard to maneuver, but he managed. 

Until he stepped into the next alley and an Infected came barreling out from his left side and lunged at him. Gladio wouldn’t have normally gone down— he was significantly bigger and taller than the Infected woman that had tackled him, but she had the momentum and the element of surprise, and he dropped his greatsword so it couldn’t impale him as he was sent crashing to the ground. 

“Gladio!” Prompto screamed, and the sounds of rapid gunfire rang in Gladio’s ears as he rolled onto the Infected and elbowed her in the face, her head snapping to the side as her teeth snapped down on empty air. 

He spared a moment to locate his greatsword near a stack of crates. If Ignis were here, he’d already be calling out instructions, coming up with plans at lightning speed faster than Gladio could even think.

“Use those boxes to your advantage,” Ignis might say, “Put the Infected at a distance while you grab your greatsword. If all else fails, brute strength will do.”

He thrust his knee up against the woman’s chin as she tried to bite him again, her hands— thank the gods she was wearing gloves— scrabbled against him, tearing at his shirt and catching a thumb in his belt loop. His knee connected with a resounding crack and the woman must have bitten through her tongue because when she opened her mouth again, her teeth were stained red with blood. 

Gladio sprang back, putting the distance between them like he imagined Ignis would advise him to, reaching for his greatsword as he did so. He had been hoping to grab the handle, but when his hands closed around the blade instead, he had to make do. 

He gripped the sword, ignoring his sharp pain and blood as it poured over his hands until he could grab the handle with his left hand. He knew he had to move quickly and the blood would only make his grip more slippery, so he rubbed his hand on his pants and drove the greatsword through the Infected woman’s middle.

He could hear the crack of more gunshots.  He glanced over his shoulder, but could no longer see Prompto or Cor. He took a deep breath and dragged himself over the boxes, shoving them backwards onto the woman as he did so. He hoped that the weight of them would either finish her off or incapacitate her enough to no longer be a threat. 

He raced down the alley, dragging his greatsword behind him— it would be ideal to hold it upright in front of him, but he’d need two hands for it, and he didn’t want to risk a slippery grip when he needed it to be firm. 

Nearly in the clearing, someone launched down atop his shoulders and he dropped hard. Pain shot through his wrist— must have twisted it— and he dropped his greatsword again. He gritted his teeth as he ducked and rolled, trying to throw the person off his shoulders. 

She fell in a flurry of rage, a gun holster clattering to the ground. 

Gladio wasted no time in snatching it up, relieved to see the silver glint of a gun still in it. He tore it from the holster. He never really specialized in guns, but he at least knew how to use them.

The woman launched herself at him again and the two of them toppled to the ground, clapping a hand forcefully across Gladio’s mouth as she struggled to pull him into the shadows and behind some boxes.

He tried to scream out, his voice muffled by her hand as the woman shoved him onto his back and straddled him, snatching the gun from his hands and pressing it to his temple. 

“Fuck— wait!” Gladio screamed out. 

The woman pulled back, her brown eyes wide with panic and surprise as she regarded him. “Gladiolus!” She exclaimed. “Are you… you? Is it really _you_?” 

He probably looked similarly stunned as he processed who he was looking at. “ _Crowe?_ ”


	35. Chapter 35

Crowe’s clothes were dusty and caked with mud, her hair partially undone from a ponytail. Her eyes were wide as she stared at him in shock. She recovered quickly, pulling the gun away from Gladio’s face.

“Gladiolus. Gods. When I saw you dragging that sword like that, I thought you were turned,” she said, climbing off of him and helping him to her feet. 

Gladio took her arm and righted himself, pulling his sword close as Crowe gestured for him to duck into the shadows. “I thought you were one of ‘em, too,” he admitted. “But we can talk later. Prompto and Cor are already out there.” 

Crowe nodded. “I’ve been looking for you guys,” she said. “That’s how I ended up here. Been looking for like a month.” She rubbed her face. “When I saw the hotel was burned down, I thought you were all dead.”

“I’m alive,” Gladio assured her. “But there aren’t many of us left. Me. Prompto and Cor. Iris,—”

“Nyx?” Crowe asked, cutting him off. He could see the desperation in her eyes and it killed him to see that expression crushed when he shook his head no. 

“I did what I could,” Gladio promised her. “We all did. But shit went down. Nyx didn’t make it and Iggy’s hurt bad. Long story, but we shacked up with some people from Niflheim.”

Crowe’s eyes narrowed. “What? _Why_?”

“They followed princess Lunafreya here and straight to us. One of ‘em was her brother. Another was the Chancellor. He killed one of the people we were grouped up with; don’t think you knew her. We kicked him out. But he’s got medical supplies we need. Guess he used to be a healer. I hate to say it, but we got to find him again. We need his help.” He glanced down at his greatsword. “We’ve lost a lot of people since Lucis. Too many.”

Crowe nodded. Looked away. “Nyx. How did he die?”

“Bitten.” Gladio wasn’t ready to drop the full truth on her quite yet. “Begged us to do it. He was himself ‘till the end. You’d be proud of him. Fuck, I thought—”

Crowe silenced him by slapping her hand over his mouth again and pointed out into the alley. An Infected power plant worker raced by, tearing through the small space toward the clearing. 

“She’s probably chasing Prompto and Cor,” Gladio growled under his breath after it was gone and Crowe pulled her hand away. “We should find them. Sure they’ll be surprised to see ya.”

He certainly was— he had about a million questions to ask Crowe, but he could ask them later.

Once he was sure there were no more Infected planning to run by, Gladio crept out of the shadows and turned to Crowe. “You with us?”

“You bet I am,” Crowe slipped out of their hiding place, untangling the bag over her shoulder a readying her gun. “Took me too long to find you just to let you go off without me. Lead the way.”

It didn’t take long to slip out of the alley and into the clearing. The Infected woman who had run past the two of them was dead, a bullet in her head. 

He spotted Prompto and Cor just up ahead, Prompto rapid-firing at a group of Infected soldiers while Cor handled the ones closest to the airship. 

Prompto briefly acknowledged Gladio when he stepped out from the alley and did a double-take when he noticed Crowe beside him. He recovered in a split second to fire at one of the Infected soldiers that got a little too close. “Dude!” He called to Gladio. “Over here!” 

Gladio turned to shout orders at Crowe, but she was already ahead of him, killing three soldiers in three perfect shots as she booked it toward Cor and Prompto. Gladio had trained with Crowe before and he knew she was _good_ , but she’d become an even better shot since the last time he saw her. 

Wiping his hand on his pants, Gladio gripped his greatsword with both hands again and cut through several Infected as he hurried to catch up to her.

“Where’re we trying to get to?” Crowe called out. “Three second rundown!” 

“Airship,” Prompto replied. “Or the mini-mart. If we don’t find him, we can check the surrounding houses.”

“The door’s bashed in, though,” Cor added. “We can’t just walk in the front door of the ship or the Infected will follow us.”

Crowe narrowed her eyes as she glanced around the gas station. “I have a plan.” 

She climbed onto the bollard and used her momentum to launch herself on top of the gas pump and grab hold of the side of the airship, pulling herself up on top of it. It was the kind of bullshit move Ignis would pull, and Gladio wondered if maybe he’d learned some of his more acrobatic skills from her.

“Here, grab my hand!” Crowe called down to them. 

Prompto paused from shooting at the Infected to jump and grab hold of her hand, scrambling up on top of the ship. 

Cor went next, and then Gladio followed, staving off the Infected with frantic sweeps of his greatsword. He wiped his bloodied hand on his pant leg once more before glancing back at Crowe, who waited expectantly for him to take her hand. 

“We can’t use the armiger anymore,” he told her, knowing she would know what that meant. “Someone needs to take my greatsword.”

Cor reached down and Gladio passed him his weapon. He took Crowe’s hand and pushed off on the side of the ship as Crowe and Prompto helped him up. Below them, the Infected started to gather, and one of them started to examine the gas pump that Crowe had climbed on top of. 

“This will have only bought us a little time,” Cor said. He handed back Gladio’s greatsword and shot the Infected closest to the pump.

“Is there a way into this ship that doesn’t include the front door?” Crowe asked. “A top-hatch or something? Seems like a shitty place to hide though, if you ask me. There’s probably not much luck your friend is here.”

“Believe me, he’s not our friend. He’s—” Prompto paused to shoot another Infected. “A last resort.”

Crowe furrowed her brow. “Right,” she replied. “Bad choice of words, sorry. I guess we should leave no stone unturned then, huh,” she mused. 

“It looks like you were right about there being a hatch. Over here,” Cor interrupted, toeing at some hinges with his boot. “If one of you wants to pull it up.” 

Prompto nodded. He dropped onto one knee and fiddled with the bolts on the latch. “Got it!” 

Another Infected climbed up on top of the bollard. Crowe shot it with a harried, “Move it!” Over her shoulder as more of the Infected scrambled to try and get onto the ship. 

Gladio would have to leave killing those Infected to everyone else. “I’ll make sure it’s clear in there,” he said. “Cover me!” He climbed down into the ship, finding himself in the upper level. That may have been how Ardyn had gotten in the last time they were here. 

He gripped his greatsword a little tighter, the echoes of howling Infected around him, but it didn’t look like any of them were smart enough to know they were entering the airship from the top down. Yet. 

“It’s all clear! Come on down!” He called up. 

Prompto helped Cor down and then hopped after him. Crowe followed shortly after.

“It might not be long before they get up here. We better make this quick. We might have to shoot our way out the main door,” she said, casting a worried glance back up at the hatch.

Prompto glanced around. “I don’t see anyone here,” he said. He pushed open one of the doors. “Don’t hear anything either.”

“Besides those Infected outside,” Cor agreed. 

“We didn’t hear Ardyn in here last time either, though,” Gladio said. “Could still be in here. But let’s make it quick.”

“Cor and I can check up here,” Prompto said. “If you and Crowe want to take the lower deck…?”

Gladio nodded, clapping Crowe’s shoulder. “Let’s do it.”

Crowe nodded, and they split off. Gladio tried to shake the growing feeling of dread at being back here in the airship again as he led Crowe to the staircase to the lower floor. Last time they’d been here, they’d been with Noctis. Last time they’d been here, they hadn’t been fast enough to save him. 

_Gladio_ hadn’t been fast enough to save him. 

“Hey,” Crowe said, snapping him out of his thoughts. She pointed to the stairs. “This it?”

“Yeah,” Gladio replied. “There aren’t too many rooms. Shouldn’t take long.” He steadied his grip as he crept down the stairs, glancing around the corners to make sure there weren’t any Infected that had wandered inside. He could see them wandering outside, and he pressed a finger to his lips and pointed the bashed-in door out to Crowe.

She nodded. The two of them slipped silently past the door to the main body of the airship. Gladio couldn’t quite figure whether he was relieved or frustrated when he pushed open door after door and didn’t find Ardyn in any of them.

“Nothing over here,” he muttered, half under his breath.

“Yeah, not finding anyone on my end either,” Crowe whispered back. “We should head back upstairs.” 

Gladio stopped when he got to the room that the first-aid kit had been in, frowning to himself. His greatsword felt heavy in his hands.

If only he’d just been a little faster.

He tore his gaze away from the room and shut the door. “Let’s get back up there,” he told Crowe.

When they reached the top of the stairs, they heard a gunshot and an Infected dropped from the upper-hatch down to their feet. 

“Close one!” Prompto exclaimed. “Any luck down there?”

“No,” Gladio sighed. “You?”

Prompto shook his head. “Nah. Let’s get outta here before more get in. Are we busting through the front door?”

“That would be best,” Cor said. “If there are Infected on top of the ship, it’ll be riskier getting down safely than just fighting our way out.”

“Let’s do it then.” 

Gladio led the way. The other three followed, guns at the ready as Gladio shouldered his way through the busted door. Most of the Infected that had been gathering were trying to climb their way up the gas pump.

One turned to look at Gladio as he came through the doorway. Prompto shot it before he even had the chance to raise his sword.

“Where to?” Crowe shouted. 

“Uh—” Gladio cast about the area. The mini-mart was still pretty busted up from the last time they were there, the glass shattered from when the Infected broke in. Unless Ardyn was hiding in the storage closet, which he doubted, he was likely not in there either. “Mini-mart looks like a trap. We need another plan.”

He could really use one of Ignis’ ideas right about now. 

“Whatever it is, make it it fast!” An Infected launched itself off the bollard. Cor shot it, the bullet just missing its head and clipping its ear. He didn’t miss the second time. “We need it now, Gladio!” 

“W-wait guys!” Prompto shouted, pointing his gun toward a cluster of houses across the road. “I think I saw him!”

“Lead the way, then!” Gladio swung his greatsword and cleaved through one of the Infected townspeople. His sword slid through to the bone, and he pulled back, the smell of blood heavy and metallic around him as the Infected gurgled around a screech. 

Crowe finished it off. “Get with it, Amicitia,” she warned, with a raised eyebrow. “Gotta make sure they’re dead.”

“Right,” Gladio narrowed his eyes. He glanced over to see Cor fixing him with a hardened stare, and then Prompto was waving them all over, booking it toward the cluster of houses. Gladio followed, and this time when he cut through the Infected coming at him, he made sure to go for the head. 

The body crumpled. He made a point not to let his eyes follow where the head rolled. 

When Gladio looked up again, he spotted the tail-end of a cape vanish into a house. He pursued him, could hear the hurried footsteps of the other three behind him. Gladio reached the house, and all but tore the door down as he yanked it open. 

Two Infected stood in the doorway.

Gladio stumbled backwards, trying to put enough distance between him and the Infected to be able to swing his greatsword. “Watch out!” He called to the others. “He’s got Infected in here!”

Prompto and Cor reached the door next, and Prompto kicked one of the Infected back and shot it through the head. “Find him!” He called to Gladio. “We’ll hold them off.”

As Gladio forced his way into the house, Crowe shot the second Infected and kicked the door shut, her back up against Prompto’s. “Go on!” She urged. 

Gladio glanced around the house. The two Infected that had blocked the door were dead, but Gladio had a feeling those weren’t the only ones Ardyn had in here. 

At the end of the hallway, a door slammed. A red scarf.

Gladio got there first, his rage propelling him to the door as he threw it open. Ardyn stood in the middle of the room, his hands held up in defeat. Or mock-defeat. Gladio couldn’t tell, nor did he care. 

He dropped his greatsword and shoved Ardyn back against the wall, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt. He regretted it for a moment— not really the right way to make a good impression, but Cor was right; they’d already burned that bridge. 

“Enough _running_ ,” Gladio snarled at Ardyn, his eyes narrowed. “This where you’ve been hiding?”

Ardyn cracked a sly smile, which only infuriated Gladio even more. “Oh, was I supposed to be hiding from you?” He asked. “I was simply returning to my humble abode.”

“That right?” Gladio snapped. “Is that why you sent Infected to greet us at the door?”

Ardyn chuckled. “You must mean my security. What’s a man alone supposed to do if not defend himself? But there’s more where they came from, I assure you.” 

Gladio glared at him. “You better not try anything else.”

“How am I to do anything pinned up against this wall?” Ardyn countered. “You know, if I didn’t know better, I’d say you’ve been trying to seek me out with how often we’ve run into each other as of late.”

“Gladio?” Prompto called, “Hey, buddy, maybe we should try to handle this with a little less violence?”

“I’d listen to my friend if I was you,” Ardyn tutted.

Just to spite him, Gladio smacked the hat off of Ardyn’s head, pleased to at least get a flicker of an expression that wasn’t taunting or smug. He pulled away roughly and Ardyn shifted his eyes to look behind Gladio. 

Gladio tensed briefly and followed his gaze to see Cor standing in the doorway. He exhaled. Turned back to Ardyn. “Let’s go out there with the others. We need to talk.”

Ardyn seemed receptive to that at least. He plucked his hat back off the ground. “Lead the way.”

Once they were back in the main room of the house, Ardyn glanced between the group of them. As his eyes shifted to Prompto, a darker expression overcame his features.

Gladio snatched his sword back up, stepping protectively in front of the other three. “We’re here for a reason,” he said. Paused. “You were right. We were looking for you.”

Ardyn feigned surprise. “For little old me?” He repeated.

“We need your help,” Prompto said. 

Gladio felt a hand on his shoulder and he allowed Prompto past him, stepping back to give the gunslinger some space. 

“Guess we’re not doing a job of making that clear, are we?” Prompto continued. “But um. Yeah. We were wrong before. Luna said you were a healer.”

Ardyn’s mouth twisted into a sneer. “That was a long time ago.”

“Well, we could still use your expertise, and you’ve got the supplies.” Prompto replied. “Will you help us?”

Ardyn regarded him, his eyes narrowed. “What makes you think I want to help you? You cast me out with nary a second thought and told me never to return. And what was it you said to me? Something about already having a healer? That you had no need of me? Frankly, dear _friends_ , I have no interest in returning to you out of my good graces. I’ve had enough.”

“But!” Prompto stammered. “That was before. We need… you have…”

Gladio took that as his cue to step in. “Lestallum ain’t safe. We know that, you know that,” he said. “I’m just gonna cut to the chase here. No games. There’s a town that hasn’t been touched by the virus, and we have a secure way to get there without being killed. If you help us treat our wounded, we’ll take you with us. Or you can die here. Your choice.”

Ardyn was silent for a few moments, and Gladio clenched his fist around his greatsword, willing himself to stay calm while Ardyn mulled it over. He hated to seem so desperate, but they had no other options. This was the best shot they had in saving Ignis. He could only hope Ardyn wouldn’t see through that and pass it up

“You want me to play doctor? Is that all?” Ardyn’s eyebrows rose a fraction of an inch. “How am I to know it isn’t a trap?”

“How are _we_? We don’t trust you, either. We just understand that there’s a mutual interest. You don’t want to be trapped in Lestallum until the Infected finally turn around and kill you, do you? You killed one of our own before. If you save one now, we’ll bring you with us.”

“Ah, yes,” Ardyn’s gaze shifted over Gladio’s shoulder again, “As I recall, it was your dear Prompto that gave away that little secret, wasn’t it.”

“That’s in the past,” Gladio snapped, trying to keep the chancellor focused on him long enough to weasel an answer out of him. “We’re offering you a damn good deal if you ask me. We need an answer.”

Ardyn studied him a little longer. “Fine,” he replied. “I’ll bite. But don’t blame me if things don’t go your way. I’m a bit out of practice, you see.”

“If you try to hurt Iggy, I’ll kill you myself,” Gladio said coldly. “You better do your damn best.”

He wanted to wipe Ardyn’s smirk off his face— it was even worse than Ravus’ had been, somehow. He stepped back far enough to give Ardyn some space.

Ardyn gestured to the stairs. “Let me get my things. I’ll be but a moment.”

As soon as he vanished upstairs, Prompto turned to Crowe, the shock evident on his face. “Crowe, you— you’re…”

“Alive?” Crowe nodded. “Yeah. Hell of a story. I’ll tell you when there’s some time. But for now, all you need to know is that I’m here and I plan to stick around this time.”

Prompto cracked a smile. “Good. Uh… should one of us follow him to make sure he doesn’t have any tricks up his sleeve?”

“I will,” Gladio said, quickly. Balancing his greatsword out in front of him, he climbed the stairs as quietly as he could, listening for any telltale signs of Infected or a gun being cocked. 

There were none.

He turned the corner of the stairs. And just around the corner at the end of the hall, he could see Ardyn bending down over a bag, the glint of a dagger visible for a split-second before it was obscured by his coat. 

Without even turning to acknowledge him, Ardyn said, “My, my. Impatient, are we?”

“Yeah,” Gladio answered, gritting his teeth. “You planning on using that knife on us?”

Ardyn finally turned to Gladio. “Please. Don’t tell me you’re surprised I’m bringing a weapon of my own. We are all trying to survive, after all. Though I can’t say you’ve done a very good job of that if you’ve resorted to seeking me out.”

“Do you want to get out of this city or not?” Gladio growled. 

Ardyn picked up his bag. “Let’s go then, shall we?”

“After you,” Gladio said shortly. He wasn’t about to turn his back to Ardyn, especially now that he knew he was carrying at least one and possibly more weapons with him. 

They regrouped downstairs. Gladio didn’t mention the knife, but he didn’t need to; he was keeping a close eye on Ardyn. “How are we getting out of here?” He asked. 

“The front door, I’d imagine,” Ardyn replied.

“No shit. Are there going to be Infected waiting for us?” Gladio pressed. 

Ardyn just shrugged. “Your guess is as good as mine.”

“Then we’ll follow you,” Cor raised his gun. 

Gladio didn’t miss the way Ardyn’s eyes drifted to Cor’s broken arm. 

To his relief, Ardyn didn’t argue. He pushed open the door.

Crowe, Prompto and Cor shot the Infected that were closest, and Gladio trailed after Ardyn. They slipped down the streets in a bit of a formation, with Prompto and Cor in the front, Crowe in the middle keeping an eye on Ardyn, and Gladio bringing up the rear. 

As they stepped through the alley, Gladio started to grow unsettled by how empty it seemed to be. They’d killed a bunch of the Infected on their way out to find Ardyn, but there had been way more. 

“Be on your guard,” Crowe said, taking the words right out of Gladio’s mouth. “This is weird.”

Gladio side-eyed Ardyn, who must have felt his stare on him and held Gladio’s gaze until he scoffed and turned away. Surely Ardyn couldn’t have been behind whatever the Infected were planning, but everything was unpredictable when he was around. 

“Watch out!” Cor shouted. He lunged forward and shoved Prompto to the ground as a toolbox hit the ground and broke open, sending the tools scattering. 

Prompto let out an astonished laugh, wide-eyed. “Oh shit. That would’ve been bad. I’d be very dead right now.” 

“Yeah,” Cor muttered.

Gladio glanced upward just in time to spot an Infected power plant worker step off the roof. Crowe pulled him out of the way as the Infected hit the ground, her body twisted and broken at unnatural angles. 

“Fuck.” Crowe’s voice was shaky. “Let’s move.”

Cor growled around gritted teeth. “Can’t— Foot’s hurt bad. Misstepped and landed on it hard when I went down. It might be fractured. Someone’ll have to help me up.”

Gladio whipped his head around to look at Cor as Prompto scrambled to his feet and helped Cor to his feet. He couldn’t quite gauge the damage, but if Cor said it hurt, then that had to mean it was bad. 

“You can put an arm around me,” Prompto said. He looked back over at Gladio and the others. “There could be more Infected on the roofs. We shouldn’t hang around.”

“Enough gawking,” Cor grunted. “Get to the house. Prompto and I will follow. Clear the path for us.”

That, Gladio could do. He spared a moment to get eyes on Crowe and Ardyn, and then he brought his greatsword up in front of him and ran through the alley. Any Infected coming at them now would get a run-in with his sword.

He burst through the clearing to their house. Crowe and Ardyn followed. 

“They won’t come past here!” Gladio shouted to them, as Crowe shot one of the Infected pursuing Prompto and Cor. 

“Are you sure about that?” Crowe called back. She reached out and grabbed Prompto’s hand, bringing him and Cor safely into the clearing. 

Gladio was about to reply that he was, and that the Infected seemed unable to step in the clearing in front of the house, but just as he opened his mouth, one of the Infected at the edge of the clearing stepped closer. 

Gladio’s eyes widened. “They can get in here now!” he shouted. “Get inside! I’ll hold ‘em off!” 

“I’ll help!” Prompto readied his gun. 

Crowe pulled open the door and helped Cor inside while Prompto shot the Infected that had stepped into the clearing. But it was too late now; the other Infected had already seen the one step in, and more barreled toward them even as Prompto fired several successive shots at them. 

“I can’t hold ‘em all off!” Prompto called, his voice wavering. 

“But perhaps I can.” Ardyn stepped forward. “Allow me to do the honors.” As the Infected came tearing toward them, he nonchalantly reached into his bag and pulled an arm out of it, severed at the elbow. 

Gladio stumbled backward, nearly dropping his greatsword as Ardyn lifted the arm up in view of all the Infected before throwing it directly into the horde. 

“Fetch.”

They tore at the arm, a frenzy of gnashing teeth and tearing flesh. 

“What the hell was that?” Cor snapped, exchanging a worried look with Gladio.

“Oh, that?” Ardyn repeated. “Why, it just what it looked like. How do you think I’ve survived on my own all this time? Of course, it helps not to be squeamish.”

Gladio narrowed his eyes at the bag slung over Ardyn’s shoulder. He had a feeling the house Ardyn had been living in might not have been empty when he’d first arrived, and that thought made him sick. “You got more arms in there?” 

“One,” Ardyn replied coolly. “Among other things.”

That was not what he wanted to hear.

He blinked, and for a split second the arm looked too familiar. He gritted his teeth and quickly looked away to keep from heaving.

He felt a hand on his back. “Let’s get inside while they’re distracted!” Prompto said. 

Gladio nearly stumbled through the door, the others following. Crowe slammed it shut. Gladio went over to help Cor to a seat at the table, but he shook his head. 

“I’ll manage. Go help Crowe and Prompto.”

Gladio glanced up to where the two of them were haphazardly shoving chairs and boxes and anything they could get their hands on up against the door. He ran over to help, the three of them barricading the door without even so much as a word. 

Breathing heavily, Gladio stepped away from the door even as he heard the thumping of the Infected as they tried to bash their way in. The door would hold; but he wasn’t sure for how long. 

Prompto did a round around the house to make sure the windows were secured, and when he returned down the stairs, Iris was with him. 

Her eyes widened as her gaze fell to Crowe and Cor. “Crowe!” She exclaimed. “What happened out there?” She asked, her eyes worried. “Cor… your leg!”

“I’ll handle it,” Cor replied. “Don’t worry about me. What matters is that we’re alive, and we found help.”

Ardyn stepped forward. “At your service,” he said. “Again.”


	36. Chapter 36

Even with the chairs and everything barricading it, Gladio still half-expected the Infected to bash their way in here. Bash the door down or tear the hinges off like they had with the Leville and then tear through _them_.

He reeled on Ardyn, fuming. “When were you going to tell us you have fucking body parts in your bag? What was that all about?”

“Why, just what it looked like,” Ardyn replied. “I simply learned that they don’t care where the meat comes from as long as it’s human.” His eyes flicked over Gladio. “Don’t give me that look. It’s no one you knew. And they certainly won’t be needing it anymore.”

If he’d had reservations before about bringing Ardyn back, they were now amplified tenfold. Especially so when it was Ignis he was supposed to be helping. 

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Prompto help Cor to sit down at the table. Cor pulled off his boot to get a better look at the damage to his foot. 

Crowe and Iris seemed busy too. And was no one else concerned that Ardyn had _arms_ and Gods knew what else in his bag? 

Aranea took that moment to come downstairs, crossing her arms over her chest as she looked Ardyn over. “Izunia. They found you.”

“Commodore,” Ardyn grinned. “A pleasure.” His gaze drifted from the four of them over to Iris and Aranea. The smile that settled over his features made Gladio’s skin crawl. “Are you the only ones left?” He asked. “How lucky.”

Gladio wheeled on him, shoving him up against the wall. “Shut the hell up,” he snapped. “We didn’t bring you here for you to mouth off.”

Ardyn seemed unfazed by the sudden aggression, and it only pissed Gladio off even more. “As I recall, you need my help? It would do you good not to push your luck,” he said.

“You’re getting the better end of the deal here with a free ride to Altissia,” Gladio growled back. He saw the subtle lift of Ardyn’s eyebrows at the name, and he mentally cursed himself for letting the city slip before he could decide on whether to trust Ardyn or not. “Don’t make me change my mind.”

Ardyn didn’t respond, and Gladio was tempted to keep pushing him just to get some kind of reaction, but he did really need his help. He pulled back, narrowing his eyes at Ardyn.

“I hate to break this up,” Aranea cut in, “But I think I should be the one to accompany the chancellor. No offense, but I think things are getting a bit too heated here.” She flicked her finger toward the stairs. “Let’s go.”

Gladio stepped out in front of the steps. “Now wait just a minute,” he said. “I ain’t about to let him anywhere near Iggy without me.”

“Gladio.” Aranea raised an eyebrow in warning. “Let me handle this. We’re going to have to trust him if we want Ignis to heal. He knows what he’s doing. I won't let anything happen to Ignis, but you have to trust us.”

Gladio shifted his glare away from Ardyn and his shoulders sagged. Aranea had a point. They weren’t going to get anywhere. “Fine. But if anything happens, I’m the first one you come get.”

Aranea put a hand on his shoulder. “Nothing will. But you’d be the first to know.”

As Ardyn and Aranea headed up the stairs, Gladio turned away and pulled the chair forcefully away from the table, slumping into it beside Cor. “No one tells him how Ignis lost his arm,” he ordered. “If he killed Cindy just based on a _possibility_ , I don’t want him to know what really happened. I’m not risking that. He had _limbs_ in his bag.” He rubbed his temple. “What are we doing.”

“We’re doing what was necessary for Ignis,” Cor reminded him. 

Gladio nodded. He might not trust Ardyn, but he truly was their best chance. He had to believe that Aranea really would be able to handle it and keep an eye on Ardyn if he dared to try anything.

Cor turned to Crowe. “Now, I believe an explanation is in order?” 

“Yeah, how d'you find us all the way out here?” Prompto asked. 

Crowe leaning back against the cabinets, sighing heavily. “I wasn’t kidding when I said it was a long story,” she said. “But I’ve basically been tracking you. I ran into some trouble in Insomnia after the king sent me to scout out the area, as I’m sure you can imagine. Infected left and right. I barricaded myself in an empty house and waited them out. By the time I got to the meeting spot, you all were gone.”

“We took the Regalia,” Gladio told her. “Were out of there pretty fast.”

“I know, I saw the tracks the next morning.” Crowe rubbed her forehead. “I lost my motorcycle. Had to abandon it when I ran into trouble with the Infected, so most of my traveling was on foot. But I was always too far behind, too damn late.” She curled a fist. “I found Libertus northeast of the city— or his body, anyway. I barely recognized him. But he… he had his phone on him. With a bunch of missed calls and a voicemail from Nyx.” 

Prompto’s eyes were wide. “He told Libertus that we were going to Lestallum.”

“He did,” Crowe confirmed. “So I went that way. Crashed in various abandoned houses and with the occasional kind citizen. I’ve seen a lot of people dead. Killed a lot of Infected. And then when I got here, I found the hotel in ruins. And I also found a little something else.” She paused, reaching into her bag and pulling out a camera. 

Prompto’s mouth fell open. He gingerly reached out and Crowe passed it over to him. 

“It still works. I hunkered down in an abandoned house and looked through the pictures. Saw you guys in the hotel. So I thought… when it burned down… you went down with it. I found bodies that I recognized.”

Gladio swallowed. “We lost a lot of good people in that hotel,” he muttered. 

Crowe nodded. “I thought you were all dead. Or that those of you that weren’t, had turned. That’s why I attacked you in the alley, Gladio. I thought you were one of ‘em. You don’t know how relieved I was to be wrong.”

Prompto clutched the camera tightly to his chest.

Cor let out a heavy sigh. “The same could be said about you.” He offered her a slight smile. “It’s good to have you back, Crowe. If only it could have been under lighter circumstances.”

Crowe nodded. “Tell me about it. I managed to handle things all on my own, and you lot are all dying on me.” She quirked a smile, but Gladio could see her eyes glisten with tears before she blinked them away. “That stops now, got it?”

“Got that right,” Gladio chimed in. 

“Good.” Crowe leaned back in her seat, her voice softening. “Nyx may be gone, but I’m not. He’d want at least some of us to survive this damn outbreak. He’d keep fighting every day for a world we can live in again. So I’m going to do the same. And I’m bringing you all with me.”

“To Altissia,” Prompto said. “That’s where it’s safe. Cor told us about the hidden harbor.”

Crowe’s expression shifted into surprise as she glanced at Cor. “A hidden harbor?”

Cor nodded. “Cape Caem. It was docked there for emergencies. I’d say this qualifies, wouldn’t you?”

“Absolutely,” Crowe agreed. “When do we leave?”

“You saw those Infected out there,” Gladio replied, gruffly. “We ain’t gonna last in here. Two, three days, maybe. We can’t carry Iggy so we need him on his feet. Just gotta hope we can hold off the Infected until then.”

“What happened to him?” Crowe asked. 

Gladio crossed his arms. Uncrossed them. “We don’t know exactly how it happened, but—”

“Noct bit him,” Prompto answered. Catching Crowe’s alarmed expression, he added, “We think Gladio cut off his arm before the Infection got to him. But he’s got a fever and isn’t doing so hot. We think his arm might’ve gotten infected from us not being able to treat it properly. Not like. _Infected_ -infected. Just infected from not having the right stuff to handle an amputation. We hope.”

Crowe’s brow furrowed, a frown tugging at the corner of her mouth. “Gladiolus, that’s not… smart,” she muttered. “If he was bitten, he’s… we shouldn’t take chances.”

“Don’t,” Gladio warned, stepping closer to the stairs. He didn’t expect her to run up there and kill Ignis, but still, the vague threat was enough to put him on edge. “If he was still Infected, he’d have probably turned by now. It’s—”

“I’ve already talked to him about it, Crowe,” Cor interrupted, and Gladio felt his shoulders relax a little when the marshal spoke. “He is fully aware of the dangers and the possibilities. Ignis hasn’t turned yet and the symptoms match up with that of an amputation infection. Let Izunia do what he can; if it helps, we will know that Ignis is in the clear. If it doesn’t, we will act accordingly.”

“And Aranea didn’t have the chance to introduce herself, but she was overseeing some of the testing for the virus,” Gladio said. “She’s been working on a cure.” He intentionally left out the part about how none of those ‘cures’ had worked yet. It didn’t matter. “She’ll keep working on them for the next two days. Maybe we’ll get lucky.”

Crowe glanced between all of them. “You play a dangerous game,” she sighed. “But all right. If Cor’s okay with this, then I guess I am, too.” 

Gladio turned back to look up the stairs, fighting every urge to barge up there and make sure everything was going all right now that he was sure Crowe wouldn’t try anything. He caught Cor’s eye and the subtle shake of his head and forced himself to stay put, hovering near the stairs and straining his ears to listen for any sign of trouble. 

Prompto was the first to break the silence as he sat beside Cor. “Maybe we should take a look at your leg, too. Or have Ardyn do it,” he said.

“I’ll be fine,” Cor said. “It would do good to have someone keep an eye on the door, in any case. I can do that.”

Gladio sighed. “It ain’t gonna be fine if you continue to use it as much as you’ve been using your arm. You need to stay off it these next few days if we’re gonna want to make it to Caem.”

Cor’s expression darkened. “You forget how long I’ve been a member of the Crownsguard, Gladio,” he said. “I know what to do.”

“Do you?” Gladio rounded on him. “If it was one of us you’d tell us to shape up or ship out.”

“Hey,” Crowe held up a hand. “I didn’t come all this way to hear you bicker like children. Come on. We need to get it together.” She turned around to pull open the cabinets, poking through their supplies. She pointed to the few cans. “This all you got?”

Gladio nodded. “Yeah. Haven’t had the chance to get more.”

Crowe dropped her bag and started rummaging through it. “Then you’re in luck,” she said. “Gathered a few cans here and there to keep me going. Not too much; couldn’t let it weigh me down. But if we split it, it could last us until we leave.” She pulled the cans out of her bag. “Here.”

“Thanks,” Gladio watched her put the cans in the cupboard besides the rest of their food. 

Iris hopped over to help her, and then returned to Gladio’s side, tugging on his sleeve as she glanced up at him. “Lighten up,” she said. “It’ll be okay. We’ll be fine.” She paused. “ _He’ll_ be fine, too.”

Gladio huffed out a breath. “Hope you’re right.”

“I always am.” 

“Wouldn’t say always.”

Iris smiled, and even though there was nothing either of them could really say to comfort each other, the banter helped a bit. 

“Gladiolus?”

Gladio turned to look back toward the stairs as Aranea appeared, waving him up. “You can come up now.” She looked hopeful, and Gladio couldn’t help but feel the same— something he hadn’t felt in a long time. “Ignis is asking for you.”

Iris grinned and nudged him. “Told ya,” she said. “Go on.”

Gladio thumped up the stairs so quickly that he thought he might trip as he followed Aranea down the hall and into the bedroom. 

Ardyn sat hunched over the bed, cleaning up his supplies as he glanced over at Gladio, his narrowed eyes betraying his light tone. “I’ve cleaned his arm and applied an antibacterial ointment. You’re rather lucky you found me, aren’t you? Your poor advisor here looked to be on his last legs. I have given him a fever reducer in the meantime. It’s going to be a painful recovery once that wears off, but I would expect to start seeing improvement in the next day or so, give or take.”

Gladio hovered in the doorway, only stepping inside when Ignis’ green eyes caught his own. “How you feeling?” He asked, pulling a chair over to the bed. 

“I’ve certainly felt better,” Ignis answered. “Ardyn. He…”

“I brought him back,” Gladio admitted. “I didn’t have the right stuff. But don’t worry,” He directed a frown at Ardyn. “He won’t try anything.”

“He rather knows what he’s doing, doesn’t he?” Ignis mused.

Gladio pressed the back of his hand to Ignis’ forehead. The fever was still there, but Gladio mainly just wanted to confirm that it wasn’t getting worse. Ignis looked exhausted— he didn’t blame him. 

“He does,” Aranea answered, and Gladio almost forgot that Ignis had even asked the question. “We can leave you two alone for a bit, if you’d like. Though I’m sure Izunia probably needs to monitor Ignis off and on.”

“Yeah,” Gladio replied, gruffly. “I know who to call if he needs anything.” He only relaxed when Aranea and Ardyn were out of the room, and he pulled his hand back to kiss Ignis’ forehead. “You have no idea how worried I’ve been.”

Ignis tilted his head back and captured Gladio’s lips with his own. “I think I have some idea,” he said softly. Gladio expected to see some kind of lightheartedness in his expression, but there was none. He didn’t elaborate. He didn’t need to.

Gladio kissed him again. “He’s not the only one we found,” he said. “Ran into a familiar face. A welcome one, this time. Crowe Altius.”

Ignis’ eyes widened. “Crowe?”

Gladio nodded. “Damn near killed each other before we realized who the other was.”

Ignis fell silent, contemplative as he took in the news. He sighed. “Does she know about Nyx?”

“Was one of the first things she asked about,” Gladio answered grimly. “She knows. I didn’t tell her the whole story, but I told her the truth; that he died as himself. A hero ’til the end.” 

Ignis' eyes fell. “You’ve no idea,” he murmured. “Nyx saved my life. It should have been me. There was so much I could have done. But I…”

Gladio brushed his hair back. “I don’t wanna hear it.” he interrupted. “You’re alive. I’m gonna do everything I can to make sure you stay that way.” He took Ignis’ hand in his own. “You’ll get better.” 

Ignis nodded. “How’s Prompto?”

“Hanging in there I think. Crowe found his camera.”

Ignis exhaled. “Small victories.”

He looked drained, so Gladio pushed back and got up, stretching. “I’ll let you get some rest,” he said. “But pretty soon we’ll be on a boat to Altissia. We’ll be safe.”

Ignis rubbed his eyes. “One can only hope.”


	37. Chapter 37

Aranea glanced up when Gladio wandered into her room, looking thoroughly unamused. “I’m not a babysitter, you know,” she said, as he hovered in the doorway.

“Well, I guess it’s a good thing I’m not a kid, then.” Gladio replied, crossing his arms. He didn’t mean to be in the way, he knew how irritated he gets when Prompto or Iris would hover around him, but he just didn’t know what to do with himself. “Just wanted to see how it’s going.”

“It’s going,” Aranea sighed. “I should be making faster progress than this. But with no one to test it, it’s kind of a shot in the dark. I’ll make do, though. Not giving up that easily.” She paused. “…How’s Scientia?”

Gladio quirked a smile. “So he’s graduated from ‘Glasses’? What an upgrade.”

Aranea rolled her eyes. “Something like that. He’s a good kid. Guess I got a little used to having his help around the lab. Anyway. He doing okay?”

“Better, I think. At least a little. The antibiotic Ardyn used must be working.” 

“Good.” Aranea wrote something down on the piece of paper in front of her. “I’m not saying you should let your guard down with Izunia though. You know what he’s done. Both the high commander and I knew how dangerous he could be. There’s always a reason for everything he does. And, you know, we did sort of kick him out, so. Don’t antagonize him is all I’m saying. But don’t let your guard down either.”

It was a pointed warning. Gladio clearly hadn’t been subtle with his distrust. “I know.”

“Do you?” Aranea quirked an eyebrow. “Because seriously. You don’t wanna mess with him. He’s not just helping us out of his own good graces, you know.”

Gladio rubbed his face. “I just need to know he won’t try and sabotage shit like he did with Cindy. I don’t want to wake up and find Ignis dead or turned. I’d kill Ardyn with my bare hands.”

“I doubt you’ll leave either of them alone long enough for something like that to happen,” Aranea replied. “With Izunia’s supplies and medical expertise, he’s got a chance at pulling through. Probably more than what we could’ve said without him.”

Hearing that confirmation from someone else helped a bit.

Gladio nodded. “I know,” he said. “I just don’t know what to do. Having Ardyn that close to Ignis is making me nervous.”

“Really? Never would’ve guessed.” Aranea had a smirk on her face. “Listen. Izunia’s not stupid. He knows better than to try to go after Ignis with you watching his every move. And I doubt it, but who knows? Maybe he’s changed.”

A knock at the door pulled their attention toward Crowe as she poked her head in the door. “Gladiolus?” She asked. “A word?”

“Sure.” Gladio forced a smile at Aranea. “Bet you’re glad to be rid of me,” he said. 

Aranea waved. “I’ll get back to work,” she said, pointedly ignoring Gladio’s statement.

He took that as a yes as he stepped out of the room. Crowe didn’t look concerned, but she didn’t look happy either. “Cor won’t let Ardyn look at his leg or arm,” she said, as Gladio closed the door behind him.

“He’s as stubborn as the rest of us,” Gladio sighed. “We’ll just need to make sure he gets the attention he needs in Altissia.”

“About that,” Crowe dropped her gaze. “I talked to him a little bit downstairs. He’s named me leader of the Kingsglaive. Said he’s getting too old for the job and he need people he can trust to lead the rebuilding efforts. I’m willing to bet he knows more than he’s telling us.”

Gladio frowned. “If anyone can manage, it’s Cor,” he said. “He’s one of the strongest guys I know. He wouldn’t just give away his position like that.”

Crowe held up her hands. “I’m not saying he isn’t strong. He is. Even I still look up to him. Wish I could be half the soldier he is. I’m only telling you what he told me. If you want to talk to him yourself, be my guest. But everything that’s happened since Insomnia’s fall has got to have taken a toll on him. I don’t blame him for wanting to leave this life behind. I’m sure he won’t be the only one.”

“It’s taken a toll on all of us,” Gladio said, his shoulders drooping. “But yeah. I guess I see his point. There’s still a lot of work to do after we get to Altissia. Someone’s gotta do it. Did… he say anything else?”

Crowe nodded. “Yeah. Just some stuff to me. You can ask him yourself later.” She shifted in place. “Though I admit he sent me up here to look for you. Said you’ve been itching to train with someone?”

Gladio smiled. “Damn right. You up for it?”

“Absolutely,” Crowe replied. “It’s been a while since I’ve trained against someone that makes me work for the win.”

“I’ll make you work all right,” Gladio shot back. “Come on. I’m sure Iris won’t mind if we train in her room. She just might insist on joining in next time.”

***

“He finally emerges,” Cor said. “How did it go in there?”

“Wiped the floor with him,” Crowe said, trying (and failing) to cover up a chuckle as Gladio cast a pointed glare in her direction.

She didn’t _wipe the floor_ with him, but he had landed pretty hard pretty often and okay, maybe he was a little sore. Still, it felt good to think about training and clear his mind from everything, even if it was only for a little while. 

And Crowe had also been surviving all on her own. That had to take a lot of practice and discipline. So she definitely had the advantage. 

“He’s probably trying to come up with excuses,” Crowe teased. “Admit it. I’m just better.”

Gladio snorted. “No way. You just got lucky. I’ll prove it next time.”

“You do that,” Crowe shot back. She passed by him to take a seat on the couch. She looked a little out of breath, which Gladio silently counted as at least part of a victory.

“How is Ignis holding up?” Cor asked. 

Gladio shrugged. Cor was staring at him intensely, and he wanted to sit him down and ask what the hell he’d said to Crowe, but there was a bit too much of an audience now, with most of them hanging around the kitchen. 

“Okay, I guess,” Gladio said, after a moment. “Talked to Ignis a bit. Talked to Aranea a bit. I think Ardyn was able to knock that fever of his down. It’s looking promising. Ignis thinks so, too.”

Cor nodded. “That’s good to hear.”

“Do you want to see some of the pictures I took?” Prompto asked from where he was hunched over at the table. His eyes were bright as they met Gladio’s. Hopeful.

He didn’t want to disappoint him. He was sure the photos would be good. Prompto had a good eye. But… Noct had been in those pictures. 

Gladio opened his mouth a few times before he managed to get any words out. “Maybe later,” he finally said, catching the subtle droop in Prompto’s shoulders. 

Apparently Iris caught it too, because she pulled out a chair and sat beside Prompto. “I’d like to see them, if you don’t mind showing me?” She asked, brushing her hair behind her ear and scooting closer to Prompto. 

Prompto nodded, tilting his camera toward her. “Some of them are a little blurry. But a couple of them turned out all right.” He clicked to the next picture and held it out. “The lighting is really nice in this one. Took it on our trip to Cauthess.”

Iris smiled. “Wow, the sunset looks beautiful.”

Gladio plopped down on the couch next to Crowe. “Feel weird being back with us after so long?” He asked. 

Crowe let out a dry laugh. “Does it ever. Almost don’t even know what to do with myself now. You’ve kind of all established yourselves here.”

“There’s a lot less of us now than when this all started,” Gladio replied. “Haven’t really got roles anymore. We just do what we have to. Iris has come a long way, though. You should see her fight.”

“I’m sure I will,” Crowe replied. Her words held a heaviness to them. 

“Wish you didn’t have to.” Gladio admitted. “She’s good. But I don’t think I’ll ever be used to seeing her kill Infected.”

“We have to do what’s necessary to survive.” Crowe rubbed her forehead. “So… no more armiger?”

“No more armiger,” Gladio confirmed. “What eats at me the most is we could still use it when he turned. I told Ignis he wasn’t himself anymore when Cor…” he trailed off. “I just. I keep going over and over it in my head. Every time I close my eyes.”

Crowe’s eyes widened. “The prince turned?”

Gladio nodded, solemn.  “If it was any other way, I would’ve taken the fall.” He glanced up to make sure Iris and Prompto were still engrossed in the pictures. He lowered his voice. “I can’t stand thinking about it. When we aren’t using our weapons and the door’s closed, sometimes I can almost convince myself he’s still in there waiting for us.”

Crowe patted him on the back. It might have been awkward, but Gladio found it strangely comforting. “I know how it feels. Can’t say I really remember my parents, but Lib and Nyx? They were my family. The whole Kingsglaive was, really. Remember what Lib always said to me?”

“You were like a little sister to him.” Gladio managed a small chuckle.

“I thought I hated it back then,” Crowe said. “It’s just that he said it all the damn time. But I’d give anything to hear it now.”

Clarus had always told Gladio that as long as he did his best, he shouldn’t have any regrets. But that was kind of hard when he could run through several different scenarios for things he should have done or should have been aware of that night at the airship. 

But he couldn’t bring himself to tell Crowe that. He wasn’t sure whether she’d agree with Clarus or not, and he didn’t need even more people disappointed in him. Cor probably was, too. Even if he didn’t let it show. 

He filled Crowe in on some of the things she didn’t know yet; about Aranea, and how she’d joined their side and was working on the cure. How she had made several versions but was getting closer (Crowe’s frown deepened when he told her that they’d had several failed attempts). How Ardyn had betrayed them. Why Gladio had decided to bring him back.

Crowe listened quietly, nodding every so often as her expression grew more and more concerned. “If anyone can survive that, it’s Ignis,” he muttered. “I said it on his first day of training and I’m saying it again now. That kid doesn’t know when to quit.” She raised an eyebrow at Gladio. “Neither do you. Don’t be so hard on yourself.”

“Lotta people are dead because of mistakes I’ve made,” Gladio replied.

“So then make sure you step it up moving forward,” Crowe replied. “Because there is a forward. Once we’re in Altissia, you and I can teach people how to fight, along with the others. I’ll gather up people who want to help in the rebuilding efforts. I know that’s what Nyx would do if he were still alive. There are a lot of people who have died, but a lot of them who are alive, too. He’d fight for those people.”

Gladio nodded. “Then we will, too.”

***

The next morning when Gladio woke, Ignis was gone. He bolted upright in bed, glancing frantically around.

“Iggy!” 

He shoved open the bathroom door. Empty. The hall was next. He cast frantically about as he hurried down the hall. “Ignis!” 

All the others had their doors closed, and Gladio had no idea what time it was, but it had to be early. He was just about to start barging into rooms when he noticed the door at the end of the hall was open. 

He heard a click, and Prompto opened his bedroom door, poking his head out as Gladio stormed past. “Gladio?” He asked. “What’s going on?”

“Go back in your room,” he ordered sharply.

Prompto didn’t listen; not that Gladio expected him to. “What happened?” He asked again.

“Ignis is missing,” Gladio shot back. “Where’s Ardyn?”

“I don’t know!” Prompto popped back in his room and snatched up his gun before following Gladio.

The two of them reached the doorway at the end and Gladio shouldered his way into the room, shoving down the nausea that threatened to creep up as he stepped into _that_ room again.

Ignis was standing in the middle of the office, his back to them. Gladio caught the glint of something in his hands— his dagger. The one he’d dropped when Gladio had carried him out of the room last time.

Ignis didn’t turn or acknowledge them when Gladio and Prompto entered.

“Ignis.” Gladio said carefully, trying to keep his voice steady. “Say something.”

Ignis sighed. He glanced over his shoulder to look over at Gladio and Prompto, before he crumpled to his knees. “Gladio.”

Prompto lowered his gun, taking a step back. “I… I’ll leave you guys alone,” he said, softly. 

Gladio had half a mind to offer that he stay, but Prompto had slipped back down the hall to his room before he could even parse out the words. 

Ignis was still when Gladio reached him. “I apologize if I worried you,” he said. “I’d hoped to return before you woke.”

Gladio crossed the room and collapsed beside Ignis, pulling him into his arms— mindful not to put pressure on his bandaged arm. “Iggy, what the hell are you doing in here?”

Ignis didn’t respond for a moment, and Gladio couldn’t blink away his own tears fast enough. Almost under his breath, Ignis answered. “I had to see it.”

“See what?”

“The room,” Ignis replied. He set the knife down and reached out to touch the dark carpet, his steady fingers a far cry from how shaky Gladio felt. “Cor must have gotten rid of the stains.”

Not that they could see them, anyway. The carpet was dark. Any stains that were still there wouldn’t stand out. 

Gladio reached for Ignis’ hand. “Come on,” he said gruffly. “We shouldn’t be in here.” He didn’t want to be, for one. But Ignis pulled away. 

“I am not forcing you to be here, Gladio,” Ignis answered, the subtlest hint of irritation in his voice. “I tried to be quiet. I didn’t want to wake anyone.”

He was out of bed, though. A huge improvement from even just yesterday. 

Gladio pressed a hand to Ignis’ forehead. It was still hot under his hand, but not burning like it had been. “Those antibiotics must be working for you. Still, you shouldn’t be pushing yourself this hard.”

“The end of the hallway is hardly pushing myself,” Ignis said, and yes, he was definitely irritated now. “You needn’t coddle me, Gladio. I had to see the room. I had to.” His voice lowered, and he sighed as he closed his hand around the handle of his dagger again. 

“You should be in bed, Iggy. I know you can handle it, but I don’t want you pushing yourself when you don’t need to,” Gladio said. 

Ignis’ mouth twisted into a grimace. “I was the one who used the cure on him,” he said. “I’m to blame.”

“You’re not. It was the best chance he had,” Gladio told him. It certainly wasn’t _Ignis’_ fault, of all people.

Ignis swallowed hard. “I don’t know who I am without him.”

Gladio deflated, pulling him closer. 

“Every single aspect of my life has been entwined with his,” Ignis continued. “You had your home, and your parents, and your sister. I’ve only ever had Noct and the citadel.”

“And your uncle,” Gladio supplied, rather unhelpfully. 

Ignis’ expression was stony. “Not really. We spent more time apart than we ever did together.”

Gladio sighed. He reached down and laced his fingers through Ignis’. “You have me.”

“Do I?” Ignis asked. 

“Yes. Fuck— Iggy. You have no idea how worried I’ve been. I’d do anything for you.” Gladio brought Ignis closer and pressed Ignis’ hand to his chest. “Listen. I ain’t going anywhere. You have me. We can make Altissia our new home. Move in together. What do you say?”

Ignis stared at their hands. “It won’t be the same. Nothing will be the same without Noct. I used to look forward to the prospect of living together, but I… I don’t know.”

“We can take it slow then. One day at a time. Just promise me you won’t give up. I won’t either.” 

Ignis didn’t answer, but Gladio knew he was listening. 

“I’ve been thinkin’, too,” Gladio continued, his next words heavy on his tongue. “I know I shouldn’t have made it out of that airship. It’s a Shield’s duty to defend the king or die trying, and I failed. I failed Regis. I failed my dad. I failed Noct. And what use is a Shield without a king?”

Ignis seemed to sense where he was going. “And what is a royal advisor with no royals?”

“I ain’t the Shield anymore, Iggy. I failed. I don’t know how to live without my sworn duty either. It’s everything I’ve ever been. I took pride in it, but I can’t claim that title anymore.”

“You’re just you,” Ignis murmured.

Gladio nodded. 

Ignis pursed his lips. “I don’t have a life without him. I don’t know how to.”

Gladio drew him up into a kiss, tasting salt on Ignis’ lips from tears that slipped down his face. “We can learn together.”

Ignis sniffed and wiped the tears from his face. “I can’t let the others to see me like this.”

“They’d understand. But you don’t have to. We can stay here as long as you need,” Gladio assured him. And he would, too. It was hard for him to be in here, but he would stay by Ignis.

Ignis nodded. “I’m going to start training again in Altissia,” he said. “I’ll have you know I’m not useless with my left hand. In fact, I’m quite skilled with it in combat. But there are still some things I’ll need to relearn.” He paused. “Until I can look into more permanent alternatives. I’ll expect you not to go easy on me.”

Gladio cracked a smile. “I wouldn’t dare.”


	38. Chapter 38

The next day, Gladio returned to his room to check on Ignis. He’d been up for most of the night last night to keep an eye on the front door and the Infected and then spent much of the morning with Iris and Prompto.

Ignis was sitting up in bed, carefully examining his right arm. He glanced up when Gladio walked in.

“Good to see you up again,” Gladio said. 

Ignis nodded in acknowledgement and Gladio came over to sit back down in the chair beside the bed. “… Are you sure you should be poking at it like that?”

Ignis raised an eyebrow. “It’s hardly poking. I’m just still getting used to it and it was hurting a bit. I’d hoped a gentle massage might help.”

“Is it?” Gladio asked. “Helping?”

Ignis sighed. “A little.”

Gladio reached out to press the back of his hand to Ignis’ forehead, relieved to feel that the fever seemed to be down a little even from just yesterday. “Has Ardyn given you more antibiotics or whatever it is he’s doing?”

Ignis nodded. “He was in this morning while you were downstairs with Iris and Prompto. But really, Gladio. I’m fine. What were you doing down there?”

“Exercising,” Gladio replied. “Sort of. I don’t think any of us were really feeling it, but we pushed through. Gotta stay in shape if we plan to make it to the harbor.” He grabbed Ignis’ hand, pressing a kiss to the back of it. “I’ve been thinking. It wouldn’t be Niflheim-grade technology, but would trying to find you a prosthetic arm be something you’d be interested in?”

“Are you doubting my ability to do things left-handed?”

“Definitely not,” Gladio promised, “Just you said it hurts a bit. Might help if you’ve got something there. I don’t know too much about losing limbs, but I know a little. Maybe you could get something kind of like Ravus had. I’m sure Weskham could arrange something for you if you wanted.”

Ignis seemed to mull it over. “I’ll ask him when we get to Altissia.”

Gladio smiled. “Whatever you do, you’ll kick ass anyway. I know you.”

Ignis tugged his hand gently away from Gladio. “Are we okay, Gladio?” He asked. “I know it’s not been easy. I just want to make sure. If there’s anything at all I can help with, I can manage.”

“Thanks, but I just…” Gladio trailed off, trying to collect his thoughts. He didn’t really _know_ what he needed right now. He ran a hand through his hair. “Just gonna take some time, you know?” His voice caught, and he mentally cursed himself for sounding so unsure. His eyes flicked up to meet Ignis’. “Kiss me?”

A sad smile tugged at the corners of Ignis’ mouth. “Certainly.” He leaned in and met Gladio halfway.

“Things’ve just been hectic,” Gladio mumbled against his lips, reaching up to tangle his fingers in Ignis’ hair. He pulled away too soon, a bit breathless. “I’ve missed you.”

He caught Ignis’ bemused expression. “I’ve been right here.”

“Yeah. But you’ve kinda been busy trying to die on me.”

Ignis opened his mouth to respond, but whatever he was about to say got interrupted as Ardyn knocked once and stepped into the room without waiting for so much as an answer. 

“I take it you’re doing better,” Ardyn said, raising an eyebrow at the two of them.

Ignis pulled away from Gladio to look at Ardyn, his expression shifting into a neutral one. “Yes. Thank you.”

“Have you looked at Cor’s leg yet?” Gladio asked.

Ardyn reached out for Ignis’ arm, examining it briefly before opening up the first aid kit and taking out more bandages and the bottle of painkillers. He glanced at Gladio out of the corner of his eye. “I was just down there. He adamantly refused, I’m afraid. Now, I prefer to work without an audience,” he told him. “You’re dismissed.” 

' _What if I don’t want to be dismissed?'_ The words were right at the tip of his tongue, but Gladio swallowed them down. He took a deep breath. “You know where to find me if ya need me,” he grumbled, and stepped out into the hall, leaving it just a crack open in case there was any trouble.

Almost immediately, he heard Aranea bark out an order from in her room. “It’s that one over there, Blondie.”

And then Prompto’s voice: “Here. But uh, could you maybe not call me that?”

Gladio stepped over to Aranea’s room, where he could hear Aranea murmur a response. He knocked twice.

A rustle, and then Prompto opened the door. “Oh, Gladio. Hi.”

Gladio blinked back his surprise. “You’re helping Aranea?”

Prompto nodded. “Someone had to, and Iggy’s not the best for it right now. Just… keepin’ busy, you know?” He pulled the door open more to reveal Aranea sitting at her desk, measuring something out and scribbling down what he assumed were numbers. 

“Any luck?” Gladio asked.

“I think so.” Aranea frowned. “But I can’t know for sure. I’m just fiddling. If I make enough versions of this damn cure one of them’s bound to work at some point, right?”

“We can hope,” Prompto replied.

“In any case, I’ve almost got this one done but I won’t know if I’ve cracked the code until we try it, and well. Everyone who’s already turned is a lost cause. We’re just gonna have to take a chance and hope for the best.”

“Again.” Gladio rested his arm on the doorframe. “It didn’t work too well the last time we ‘took a chance’.”

Aranea exhaled, pinching the bridge of her nose. “I know damn well. What is it with you and coming in here just to piss people off?”

Gladio hated to admit it, but she kind of had a point. He held up his hands. “Sorry.”

“‘Bout time you apologize. Anyway, I’d like to see _you_ try this. It’s not as easy as it looks, you know. Can’t just throw stuff together, you have to know what you’re doing.” Aranea sent a pointed eye roll his way.

She had another point. 

“I just got a lot on my mind.”

Aranea scoffed. “We all do. Anyway, I made a promise to the prince and I intend to follow through.” She glanced at Prompto. “Prompto here has been a big help. So, you know. Take a page out of his book.”

Gladio sighed and slumped down on the bed. “Anything I can do?”

Aranea turned to look him over. “I don’t think so, unfortunately. Unless you’ve got some secret knowledge about Niflheim or their technology that I don’t know about.”

“Wish I did,” Gladio replied. 

“Me too.” Aranea wrote something down and asked for Prompto to hand her something else, which he did quickly. “But I think I might be onto something here. There’s something that feels right about this one. If this isn’t it, we’re really damn close.”

Somehow, that didn’t make him feel any more confident about this. They had made too many mistakes for him to be hopeful. 

“Here,” Aranea tore off a piece of paper and handed it to Gladio. “Give this to Ignis when you get the chance, will you?”

Gladio took the offered paper, unfolding it and glancing over Aranea’s scrawled handwriting. “What is it?”

“Notes. Everything I’ve done with this cure while he’s been recovering. I figured he might want to look it over if he’s up to it.”

Gladio nodded, folding the paper back up and pocketing it. “He will. I’ll get it to him.”

“Thanks.” Aranea handed Prompto two vials. “Want to do the honors and pour in the last ingredient?” 

Prompto took a deep breath. “Okay.” 

Gladio watched intently as Prompto took the vials and added the last ingredient— the crushed meteorshards, by the look of it. It gave off a gentle blue glow as Prompto poured it into the mixture and swirled it around. 

He glanced up at Aranea as he handed back the vial. “… Now what?” He asked. 

“Now it’s done,” Aranea replied. She gently set the vial on the desk. “I’ll transfer it later. In the meantime, will you make sure those notes get to Ignis? And Argentum, you should get some sleep. Take a nap or something.”

Prompto rubbed his neck. “I don’t know if I can, but… thanks. I hoped I helped.”

Aranea patted his shoulder. “Believe me, you did.”

Gladio slipped out of the room while Aranea packed up some of her things. With that done, it might be in their best interest to leave tomorrow. He still wasn’t entirely convinced that Ignis was well enough to run if he had to, but he couldn’t keep pushing it back. They had to leave soon. 

He opened the door to his bedroom just as Ardyn was packing his bag. He looked up as Gladio entered the room, looking thoroughly unimpressed. 

“You sure didn’t wait very long,” Ardyn said. He shoved the first-aid kit into his bag. “Do you have that little faith in me?”

Yes, actually. But Gladio just narrowed his eyes and started to push past Ardyn. “Does that mean you’re done in here?” He asked, nudging the side of Ardyn’s bag with his boot. 

Ardyn said something else, but Gladio didn’t quite process his words as something round and dark green caught his eye. He glanced up quickly at Ardyn, his eyebrows knitting. “What the hell is that?” He asked. 

“Gladio…” Ignis started, his voice a quiet warning not to start anything as Ardyn hastily zipped up the bag and slung it over his shoulder. 

“Simply my insurance,” he replied, “Nothing to worry yourself over.” Without another word, Ardyn stepped out of the room with a flourish. 

Gladio hurried to Ignis’ side. “Did you see what he had in his bag?” He asked worriedly. “It looked like a grenade or something to me. You don’t think he plans to attack us?”

“No,” Ignis replied. “It would be unwise to jump to conclusions, Gladio. Anyone would do what was necessary to survive. Ardyn having weapons is something to be aware of, but I’m not surprised. He was alone for quite some time.”

“Puts me on edge,” Gladio growled. He started to clench his fist, but Ignis covered his hand with his own.

“Everything puts you on edge lately, love,” he said, softly. “I know you’re just looking out for us. But don’t push it. We’re already so close.”

Gladio exhaled. Pulled away and sat on the edge of the bed. “And you’re still doing okay?”

Ignis nodded. 

Gladio reached into his pocket and pulled out the paper Aranea had given him. He unfolded it and passed it over to Ignis. “Aranea asked me to give this to you. She’s said it’s her-”

“Notes,” Ignis finished, “On the cure.” He studied the paper. “I’m surprised she thought of me. I’ll have to read it over. I’m interested to see what she changed this time. Is she finished with it?”

“Yeah,” Gladio said. “Guess you made a pretty big impression on her. I’m not surprised. You know your stuff.”

“I should hope so, I spent a great deal of time learning all of it.” Ignis smiled softly. “… How soon do we leave?”

It’s not like they had a set time, but Gladio knew that if he told Ignis that, he would insist on leaving right away. “Tomorrow,” he said instead. “Probably. Have to run it by Cor.”

Ignis’ expression told him that he wasn’t pleased with that response. Gladio pushed himself back up off the bed. “Guess I’ll talk to Cor,” he said. “Make sure we’re all on the same page.”

***

“I saw it in his bag, Cor,” Gladio insisted, trying to keep his voice down. Why was he the only one that seemed concerned about this?

Cor listened carefully, a frown creasing his forehead. “If he does, I’m not surprised he didn’t tell us. After all, listen to how you’re reacting.”

“I wouldn’t react this way if he’d just told us upfront,” Gladio argued. “What, now he’s got body parts _and_ a grenade? Who knows what else he’s got? And what happens if he runs out of body parts and decides to kill us to get more?” 

Everything Ardyn did was getting more and more suspicious. He knew he shouldn’t jump to conclusions, especially since Ignis had warned him against it, but Ardyn knew Ignis was recovering. They could no longer access the armiger. They were nearly out of food. They had Infected constantly banging at their door. They were at their weakest. 

Ardyn could use that against them if he wanted to. 

“He _won’t_ ,” Cor answered sternly. “Listen, Gladiolus. It is important to have all the facts. Many of us have guns. You and Iris have swords. Ignis has a dagger. Having weapons to defend yourself does not necessarily mean you’re guilty or planning anything. I will speak with Ardyn if it would put your mind at ease, but don’t look for trouble where there is none.”

Gladio swallowed. Slumped down at the table beside Cor. “Fine,” he sighed. “I just don’t want to see any more of us get hurt.”

“Neither do I,” Cor said. “But we can’t lose sight of our goal. We have a harbor to get to. Preferably in one piece.”

Gladio rubbed his forehead, peering over at Cor. “Crowe said you named her leader of the kingsglaive.”

Cor nodded. “I did. I need someone younger than me who is prepared to deal with what is to come. Crowe not only survived on her own, but she has been a great help to us since she has returned. I know she has what it takes.”

“She does,” Gladio agreed, “But what about you, Marshal? Does that mean you’re stepping down?”

“Something like that,” Cor said, “It just felt like it was time. And I’m in no shape to lead anyone at the moment with my arm and leg in the state they’re in.”

Crowe was a good choice, but Gladio still felt like there was something Cor wasn’t saying. “I think I’m gonna lie low for a while after this,” he said softly. “I’ll help if they need me, but I just want to live. With Ignis.”

Cor’s eyes twinkled with amusement. “I’m sure Ignis will still find a way to involve himself. We’ll need his help. But I don’t blame you for wanting to take a step back for a little while. Take care of yourself. When you’re ready to step back in, I am sure everyone will welcome your help.” He paused. “I’ll speak to Ardyn. But you should get some rest. You look like shit.”

Gladio let out a dry laugh. “You don’t pull any punches. But, yeah. Think I will.”

***

Prompto forced himself into the room and slammed the door shut. “They’re breaking in!” He shouted. “Get up, get up!” 

Gladio bolted upright, glancing briefly at Ignis to see he was already awake and out of bed. He shoved the covers off of himself and pulled on his boots. Ignis snatched his glasses and then his dagger off the nightstand while Gladio grabbed his greatsword. 

“Guys, we gotta move!” Prompto called. He reached out to help Ignis, but Ignis shook his head. 

“You have the gun, Prompto. It’d be wise for you to take the lead,” Ignis said. The only indication that he was still recovering was how flushed his cheeks were. “Gladio, and I will follow.”

“You got it,” Gladio replied. 

Prompto nodded, racing back out the door and firing at a couple Infected that had reached the stairs. 

Gladio wasn’t sure how they’d gotten in. Who had been watching the door? He took up the rear, making sure nothing could come up behind them as Prompto forced his way back down the stairs. 

“We have to leave now!” Cor barked as they reached the first floor. Several Infected had broken the windows and were trying to climb in as Iris cut them down one by one. 

“What happened!” Gladio shouted. “How’d they break in?”

“Must’ve planned it!” Iris called back. “They attacked all the windows and the door at once. We couldn’t hold them off!”

An Infected grabbed for Cor and he kicked it back with his good leg. Ignis whipped around and stabbed it through the head. 

“I have an idea,” Cor started. “I won’t make it if I try to run, but I can give you all a head start. I can distract them.”

“Fuck no!” Gladio snarled. “I’m not letting you sit here and have them tear you apart, Cor.”

“I won’t.” Cor paused to shoot another Infected. “The power plant. There are enough meteorshards in there to trigger a larger explosion if we jump start it. I can use Ardyn’s grenade in there— It’ll wipe out all the Infected that Cindy and I trapped inside and any Infected in the vicinity.” He grabbed an Infected by the collar of its uniform, pressing the gun to its forehead and pulling the trigger, shoving its limp body to the floor as more Infected tried to break in.

“And _you_!” Prompto shouted, shaking his head. “Cor, please! We won’t let you do that! And with your leg, you might not even make it to the power plant.”

“I’ll take him.” Aranea spun around to face Gladio, pressing something into his hand. “This is the best I have for the cure,” she said. “Ignis has my notes, right? He knows everything I do about how I made it. If this one works, he and Prompto will know how to replicate it. Just take it. I’ll make sure Cor gets to that power plant.”

“I ain’t letting you die,” Gladio growled. “I’ll help you.”

Aranea thrust her lance into an Infected that was desperately grabbing for her. “Oh, don’t get me wrong, I don’t want to die and I’m sure as hell not going down without a fight. But if it’s the last thing I do, I’ll get us to the plant. I’m just as much at fault for this virus as my coworkers. Let me do what I can to fix it.” 

“But Cor,” Gladio started again.

Cor shook his head. “No, Gladio. I failed the king. I failed the prince. But I won’t fail you. The Infected will follow us to the plant and the explosion should wipe out half the city. You’ll need that distraction if you want to get Ignis out there. He’s hardly been on his feet for days now. He’s still recovering. Aranea and I can create the distraction you need.”

“I will _not_ slow us down,” Ignis hissed. “All due respect, Marshal, I can handle myself.”

 “We don’t have time to argue, Scientia,” Cor shot back. “Aranea, I could use your assistance!”

Aranea thrust her lance through an Infected. Nodded. “Take me to the plant. I’ll help you.”

“Wait!” Gladio shouted, still desperate. “The harbor. We don’t know how to get there without you.”

“I know where it is,” Crowe said. “Cor told me before. I’ll get us there.”

Prompto and Crowe shot two of the Infected in the doorway. One grabbed for Gladio’s arm but he reeled around, his greatsword slashing through the arm. He had to force down the nausea when he heard the snap of bone and felt his blade slide under the muscle. 

The arm hit the ground, the smell of blood sharp and heavy as he stared at it. There was a watch still around its wrist— still ticking. He followed the minute hand with his eyes. The hand twitched. 

“Gladio!” 

A hand grabbed his arm, and he blinked to see Iris at his side, her eyebrows drawn together as he realized they were still in the midst of battle. She thrust her sword through the head of the Infected that Gladio had attacked, finishing it off.

“We need to get out of the house. Prompto cleared the front door for us. Hurry!”

“Ignis,” Gladio managed.

“He’s outside with Crowe and the others. Let’s go!”

Gladio shook his head, trying to clear the fuzziness from his mind as he hurried out of the house, Iris still holding onto his arm. 

Outside, Ardyn was standing to the right of the house, rummaging around in his bag. He produced the other arm, the rancid smell of rotting flesh penetrating Gladio’s senses as he tossed it to the biggest horde of Infected. 

He glanced around for Ignis, relief flooding into him when he spotted Ignis and Prompto fighting alongside Crowe. Ignis had been right— his reflexes were a bit slower than usual, Gladio could tell, but he was holding his own. 

When Gladio turned, he could see Aranea and Cor fighting their way down the alley toward the power plant. “Cor!” He shouted, hoping his voice would carry above the sound of screeching Infected.

To his relief, Cor turned back to glance at Gladio. 

“Guess we’ll see if you live up to your name!” Gladio called back. Even though he felt like doing anything but, he forced a grin. “You guys better meet back up with us in Altissia.”

The corners of Cor’s mouth twitched, and he nodded once, before the two of them vanished in the chaos of Infected. 

Crowe jumped back to Gladio. “We gotta go!” She shouted. “As far away as we can!” 

“Follow me!” Gladio replied. He could do this. He saw Crowe nod, and he took off down the alley. With a few twists and turns, it would take them to the one that would lead directly out to the main road. 

They just reached the edge of the city when the power plant blew. 

Gladio grabbed Ignis and pulled him to the ground, his arms wrapped tightly around him. As he hit the ground, he could see the others dropping and covering their heads as the explosion rang out and pieces of building collapsed around them. The ground trembled (or was that Gladio?) As he opened an eye. He couldn’t see any living Infected in the vicinity as he lifted his head and got his bearings. 

Ignis groaned from under him and shoved him off as the two of them sat up. 

Ardyn looked impressed. “That plan of theirs seemed to have actually worked,” he said. “Not as bad as I thought.”

“We’re not out of the clear yet,” Ignis said. “We have to move. The explosion won’t have killed _all_ the Infected here.” His glasses had fallen from his face when he hit the ground, and Gladio swiped his hand along the ground until he found them. He passed them back to Ignis.

Prompto helped Iris to her feet as they all brushed themselves off. “Once we get out to the road, we can call the chocobos so we don’t have to run on foot.”

Gladio doubted they could make it very far running even if Ignis was in perfect shape. They’d all get tired— The Infected probably wouldn’t. They needed that extra speed. 

He nodded. “Let’s go, then.”

They picked their way through the fallen stone and rubble. For one brief second, his breath caught in his throat when an Infected raced past the alleyway they were in to continue in the direction of the power plant. It didn’t even so much as look in their direction— the diversion had worked. Any living Infected would have heard the explosion and would be headed in that direction and away from them. 

Prompto reached the chocobo kiosk. It wasn’t long until Gladio spotted the familiar sight of his chocobo racing toward them. He reached out and stroked her forehead as he quickly clambered on; the others following suit.

“Ignis, you can ride mine,” Iris said. “I’m the smallest one here. There’s just enough room for both of us, so you can hold on to me.”

“Thank you,” Ignis said, his lips pressed together in a thin line. Gladio could tell he didn’t like having to rely on the rest of them, but they were all in too much of a hurry to argue and he clearly knew that.

Gladio buried his head in the chocobo’s neck feathers as they raced out of what was left of the city, the cure Aranea had given him weighing heavy in his pocket. 


	39. Chapter 39

Gladio didn’t think he ever wanted to ride a chocobo again. He had lost track of how long they’d been riding them, but every so often he’d open his eyes and realize they were significantly farther than they had been a moment ago.

The sun had fully risen now, but Gladio just kept getting more and more exhausted the higher the sun got in the sky.

He shook his head, trying to clear it enough to focus on something other than how tired he was. Ardyn, maybe. Or Ignis. He glanced over his shoulder at the pink chocobo that carried Iris and Ignis. 

Iris was resting her head against her chocobo’s neck, her arms still tightly wrapped around the bird. Her eyes were closed but she was still awake, judging by how tightly she was holding on. Ignis was behind her, and when he caught Gladio looking at them, he quirked an eyebrow. 

“All right, Gladio?”

Gladio sighed. “Just checking on ya.”

“You needn’t worry about me.”

He knew. Really. But he just worried. Surely Ignis could understand that. He glanced back up to Crowe. “How much longer?” he asked. 

“It’s way faster by car,” Crowe admitted. “The full distance could take us a good 24 hours, Gladio. We might want to split it up.” She glanced over at Ardyn. “Did you bring the supplies we need for Ignis’ arm?”

Ardyn nodded, patting his bag. “I wouldn’t forget.”

At least he didn’t have any more arms in there. Gladio seemed to recall he’d said he only had the two. He didn’t want to know if there were any more body parts or who those body parts had belonged to. 

Prompto sped up to a trot beside Gladio. “We’re finally out of there,” he said. “But I know that doesn’t really mean anything. I know it doesn’t bring back anyone we’ve lost.”

“Cor’s alive,” Gladio said shortly. “He is. Aranea, too.”

Prompto pursed his lips. “Right. Don’t stop believing and all that.” He smiled, but it was forced. “Do you think…” he trailed off. 

Gladio waited for him to continue the thought, but he didn’t.

“Aranea really gave it her all with that cure, you know,” Prompto said, instead. He turned to look back at Iris and Ignis. “Igster, do you still remember how she made it?”

Ignis nodded. “I do,” he said. “I can let Weskham know. I will help them to develop it in any way I can.”

The conversation felt heavy. Forced. Gladio didn’t say anything more, and Ignis and Prompto fell silent, too. Perhaps they were as uncomfortable as he was. 

He knew he should feel relieved. They were going the harbor. They’d sail to Altissia. They’d finally be safe. But he didn’t feel any of that relief. It didn’t feel real. He wasn’t sure when it would.

 _If_ it would.

 _When_.

“Looks like there’s a haven up ahead.” Crowe pointed to some rocks a short ways in front of them. “We can camp there for the night.”

“We don’t have supplies,” Gladio said, numbly. “No tents, stove, nothing.”

“We’ve made do with less,” Crowe replied. 

Gladio hadn’t realized that there was a haven anywhere near him, and he wondered if maybe he’d gotten lost in his thoughts again. Prompto had fallen back a bit and Iris had taken place beside him, fixing him with a worried expression.

“Are you okay?” She asked.

Gladio nodded. “Fine.”

The scrunch of her nose told him she believed anything but. “Gladio…”

He cut her off. “I’m fine.” And then, “I don’t want to talk about it right now.” _Or with her_ , he thought. _Or ever_. But he knew she wouldn’t take either of those as acceptable answers. What he really needed was a long run or a good hard training session with—

“Gladio,” Iris said again.

His chocobo let out an irritated squawk, and he glanced down to realize that he had clenched his hand so tightly around the chocobo’s feathers that he’d pulled out a couple feathers. He uncurled his fist and stroked her neck where he’d accidentally plucked the feathers. “Sorry, girl.”

Iris would see right through it if he told her he was fine again, so he just shook his head. “Don’t worry about it.”

Ignis was watching him carefully over Iris’ shoulder, his mouth pressed thin. It probably meant Gladio would get an earful later. Or something. That look definitely meant they were due for a conversation the moment they were alone. 

But Gladio couldn’t deal with that now. He just needed to make sure they got to the haven and then got to the harbor. When he glanced up to see how far away they were from the haven, he noticed Ardyn’s eyes fixed on Iris and Ignis. Gladio scowled, and Ardyn’s mouth twitched upward before he turned away. 

That really didn’t sit well with him. 

Crowe stopped her chocobo and climbed off and the others followed suit. “Anyone have rope or something?” She asked. “We should probably secure the chocobo so they don’t get spooked and bail on us overnight.”

Ardyn reached into his bag. 

Gladio shook his head, thinking briefly about the rope they’d stored in the armiger. About everything they’d stored in the armiger. Almost without fully realizing it, he extended a hand and willed the rope to appear.

A weight pressed into his palm. 

Gladio’s breath caught, but when he opened his eyes, Ignis was standing in front of him, his fingers closed tight around Gladio’s hand. He looked exhausted but still held Gladio’s gaze with his own, eyebrows drawn up with concern despite not looking too well himself. 

“All right, love?” Ignis murmured. He didn’t need to speak in hushed tones but he did, anyway, the lilt in his voice betraying his concern.

“Everyone keeps askin’ me that,” Gladio replied, his shoulders sagging. “Must really be out of it then.”

Ignis’ expression didn’t shift. “You were…” he started. “Are you… when we were escaping the city? Did one of them get you? An Infected?”

Gladio shook his head. “No.”

Ignis’ relief was nearly tangible. “Thank the Gods,” he whispered under his breath. “You had me worried. All of us, really.”

“Shit. Sorry Iggy, I didn’t mean to worry you all. Specially after everything.”

Ignis glanced away. “Yes. Well, everything happened to all of us, too. What can I do to help?”

He’d done more than enough, and Gladio told him so. “I’ll get it together. I just want to be strong for you all.”

“You are,” Ignis replied. “Ridiculously so. But do you remember what you told me back at the house? That you weren’t going to be Shield anymore, you were just going to be Gladio?”

“Guess I’m not very good at it.” Gladio ran a hand through his hair. “How are you feeling?”

“I’ll be fine,” Ignis said, which Gladio translated to mean _downright awful_ in his head. 

“How can I look after you if you’re looking after me?” Gladio asked, trying to crack a smile.

Ignis scoffed. “I’m not going anywhere. You hardly have to look after me.” He stepped forward and ran his thumb under Gladio’s eye. “Gladio…”

He hadn’t realized he’d started tearing up. He sniffed, blinking back the tears. “Don’t say anything. You’re gonna embarrass me.”

“Hardly. I’d be a bit more concerned if you weren’t affected at all. I know you better. Don’t think I never noticed you tearing up during movie nights.” Ignis’ hand trailed back down to entwine with Gladio’s again. 

Gladio sniffed again. “Was I that obvious?”

“To me.”

Crowe interrupted whatever moment they may have been about to have by calling them over. “We may not have a tent to set up, but we can get a fire started.” She pressed a rope into Gladio’s hands. “You can tie up your own chocobos. Save any mushy stuff for Altissia, yeah?”

She raised an eyebrow at them, and then more quietly, said, “I’d like to catch up with you guys if you will. I need… I don’t even know what I need. A nice night out with friends, maybe.”

“Certainly,” Ignis replied. “There’s much to discuss.”

Gladio took the rope. Crowe had probably gotten it from Ardyn; he’d seen him reaching into his bag before Ignis got his attention. How did he even fit everything in that bag of his? He tied the rope gently around his chocobo and tied the other end to a tree. He doubted she’d go anywhere, but it gave his hands something to do. 

He hung back while Ignis did the same. He wanted to offer to help just so he could keep busy, but knew better than to step in unless he was asked. “Cor and Aranea might be on their way right now,” he said.

Ignis paused, but Gladio couldn’t tell whether it was because he was struggling to tie the rope or because of what he’d said. He exhaled heavily. “Gladio, you felt that explosion. No one anywhere near that could have survived.”

“Maybe he ran.”

“With that leg?” Ignis countered.

“Maybe Aranea helped.” 

Ignis pursed his lips. “I’m not saying we shouldn’t be hopeful. But we must be realistic as well.” He paused. Held out the rope. “Would you mind…? I have to admit, I’m not used to this. I could figure it out, but I’m truly exhausted.”

Gladio didn’t hesitate in taking the rope and tying it loosely. “Here,” he said, handing it back. “Need anything else?”

“What he needs is his antibiotics,” Ardyn cut in. 

Both Gladio and Ignis turned to look at him, and Gladio was a bit amused to see that Ignis’ expression exactly mirrored how he felt. 

“And that arm of his could do with a redressing, too.”

Despite Ignis’ wariness, he must have been really wiped out because he sighed again and turned to Gladio. “It would be best,” he agreed.

“I’ll do it,” Gladio jumped in. “Just walk me through it. I wanna know how to help him when we’re in Altissia.” And another, just as big part of him wanted to make absolutely sure Ardyn wouldn’t try anything to sabotage Ignis’ recovery. “Show me.”

An expression that Gladio couldn’t quite place flickered across Ardyn’s face, but he quickly schooled it into a smile. “But of course,” he said. 

He sat down, gesturing for Ignis and Gladio to do the same and rummaged in his bag, pulling out the antibiotic, gauze, and painkillers. “You’re lucky I had all this on hand when those creatures knocked down the door. What a tragedy it would have been had I been forced to leave it all behind.” 

Gladio inhaled deeply, trying to keep himself from blowing up at Ardyn. “Yeah,” he said, instead. As Ardyn reached for Ignis’ arm, he added. “Tell me what you’re doing as you do it.”

“I’ve been watching too, Gladio,” Ignis said. “I could walk you through it if necessary.”

Ardyn gestured for Ignis to turn toward him as he set about unwrapping the bandages. “It’s quite simple,” he said, “Unwrap, apply the antibiotic, re-wrap. There aren’t any special steps. I am mostly checking for any signs of infection and to be sure it’s healing properly. You are free to watch, but I’m afraid it isn’t terribly interesting.”

He took that to heart. As Ardyn busied himself tending to Ignis’ arm, Gladio watched to make sure he was doing everything he said he would. Though he was sure if Ardyn tried anything, now that Ignis was up and about, he would be the one to notice first if Ardyn was doing anything differently.

“And there. We’re done.” Ardyn patted Ignis’ shoulder, ignoring the pained grimace and sharp intake of breath that Ignis tried to conceal.

Gladio reached out to pull him protectively into his arms, but Ignis subtly shook his head no. He pulled back, watching as Ignis skimmed his fingers over his arm. “Thank you,” he told Ardyn. “I should be good, now.”            

“How’s the fire coming?” Gladio asked.

“See for yourself,” Crowe said, gesturing to the fire that she and Prompto had started. “Pretty good one too, if you ask me.”

Gladio nodded. “What’s for dinner?”

Crowe’s eyes crinkled. “Whatever you wanna go out and hunt, I guess,” she said. “Or gather. I’m sure there are beans or something around here.”

“If I have to eat another meal of beans, I’d probably keel over,” Gladio grumbled. He pointed his thumb toward the grass below the haven. “Hunting it is. Anyone want to come with?”

“I will,” Prompto and Iris said, both at the same time.

Ignis got to his feet. “I’ll come as well.”

Gladio was shaking his head before he even had the chance to say anything more. “No way. You’re still not feeling great, Iggy. It’s not a good idea to push yourself so soon after getting back on your feet.”

“I think I’m fully capable of knowing my own limits, Gladio,” Ignis held his gaze, voice lilting in a slight warning. “I’m not going to sit around while all of you run around doing everything. I’m well aware that I’m unable to do as much as I could before, but I won’t get used to it if you don’t even let me try. And surely I will have no trouble collecting ingredients or killing a creature alongside three other people.”

Gladio held up his hands in defeat. “Fine,” he said. “But if you start feeling off, you damn well better tell me right away.”

Ignis didn’t look impressed, but he grabbed his dagger, so he clearly still intended to join them.

“I’ll hold down the fort with this guy,” Crowe said, nodding her head at Ardyn. “We’ll make sure the place stays safe and Infected-free while you’re gone. Bring us back something good.”

“We will,” Gladio promised.

They stepped down from the haven, and Gladio scanned the area for any nearby wildlife. There was a dock down at the edge of the river, and Gladio paused to stare at it. They might have gone fishing if… they had their fishing rod. But Gladio wasn’t the fisherman. None of them were. 

Ignis seemed to have spotted it, too. He strode over to Gladio, standing beside him as the two of them looked out at the river. 

“We should go,” Ignis said, after a moment. “We won’t find dinner here.”

Prompto had come to a stop as well, halfway between Gladio, Ignis, and Iris. He turned to watch Gladio and Ignis as they hovered near the bridge. “Noct’s fishing gear was in the armiger,” he said, softly. He took a deep breath, and raised his camera, snapping a photo of the river. “For him,” he said. “I just… wish he could see it.”

Ignis nodded. “We all do,” he murmured. 

Iris hurried over, tapping Gladio on the arm. “Hey, guys. I think I see some shieldshears over the hill. Is that something we could eat, Ignis?”

Gladio glanced toward where she was pointing, but couldn’t quite see any of the creatures Iris was talking about. Either way, she seemed focused on the task at hand— he had to give her that. She seemed more dedicated to the hunt than any of the rest of them were. 

“It is,” Ignis answered. “If we can track down some eggs and green peas, I could whip up a creamy crustacean omelette.” He turned to Gladio and Prompto. “Let’s go. We have shieldshears to hunt.” 

Sure enough, there were three shieldshears just over the hill. Gladio raised his greatsword, gripping it tightly as he turned to look at the others over his shoulder. “Think we can take them?”

“Certainly,” Ignis replied. “But we only need one of them. If we can split them up, we only have one enemy to fight. They’re weak to polearms, but we’ll just have to make do with what we’ve got. If we can break its shell or flip it, we’ll have a better chance at besting it.”

“My gun might not be too useful against their shells, but I can lure them over to me,” Prompto said. “Then you guys can jump in and attack one of them from behind.”

Iris nodded. “Sounds like a plan!” She said. “Let’s do this!”

Prompto made his way over the hill while the rest of them crept around to the other side. As soon as the shieldshears caught sight of Prompto, they headed straight for him. 

Gladio lunged forward and brought his greatsword heavily down onto the shell of the shieldshears that was falling behind. The shell cracked, and Iris and Ignis swooped in, taking advantage of the creature’s momentary shock to aim for its legs. 

One look at Prompto told Gladio that he had succeeded in distracting the other two. Gladio reeled back around to deliver a few more heavy blows to the shieldshears. Between the three of them, they made short work of it. It collapsed dead at their feet. 

“We need its claws for the recipe,” Ignis said, kneeling. With Iris and Gladio’s help, they cut off the claws, and Iris shoved them haphazardly into her bag. 

“Prompto!” Gladio called. “We got ‘em! Let’s get the hell outta here!”

“Don’t need to tell me twice!” Prompto called back. He holstered his gun and booked it out of range of the remaining shieldshears, regrouping with the rest of them when the creatures decided he wasn’t worth pursuing. 

“What next?” Iris asked.

“Next is green peas. There should be some around here if we look around a bit. I also believe there are some birds around here. Perhaps we can track down a nest and procure some eggs.”

Gladio nodded. He offered Ignis a smile. “Lead the way.”

***

“Looks like you were busy,” Crowe said when they returned to the haven. She looked impressed, and Gladio was relieved to see that Ardyn didn’t appear to have tried anything while they were gone. 

Ignis must have caught her expression as well. “Did you really think we’d settle for anything less?” He asked. “I thought a crustacean omelette might do in a pinch. The ingredients are quite simple and easy to find around here.” 

“We’ll eat well tonight,” Gladio told her, giving Ignis a reassuring smile. “We did good.”

“I’ll say,” Crowe replied. She stood, brushing the dust off her pants. “Let me help you with that.”

They chopped up the crab claws while Ignis prepared the fire and gathered the ingredients. It didn’t take long before Prompto asked to join in, clearly glad to keep busy and listen to Ignis as he instructed him on how to help.

As Ignis cooked, Gladio stole occasional glances at him. It was partially to make sure Ignis was still doing all right, but also seeing him cook, joke a little with Prompto, _exist_ , helped their escape from Lestallum feel more real. 

Ardyn sat a little farther away, leaning back on his palms as he watched the scene, humming a quiet tune under his breath. 

For all the time it took to cook dinner, it hardly took long at all to eat it. Gladio tried to savor it, but after the first few bites, he realized just how hungry he really was. Ignis’ cooking was always delicious, but after going so long on whatever they could scrounge up at Lestallum, it tasted even more incredible.

“ _Mmm_.” Prompto leaned back on his palms, voicing (Gladio was sure) _all_ of their thoughts. “Best omelette I’ve ever tasted, Iggy.”

“I made do with what I had,” Ignis replied, hiding his smile under the guise of clearing his throat. “But thank you.”

“Really delicious,” Gladio added, just so he could see Ignis smile again. 

Crowe leaned back. “Well,” she started, “Thank you Ignis, and everyone else for helping with the hunting and all that. But we should probably call it a night. Tomorrow comes fast, and we’ll want to get going early. I’m sure we’re all itching to get to Altissia.” 

With dinner cleaned up, they curled up around the fire until dark, talking quietly amongst themselves. Ardyn didn’t seem too involved, but it hardly concerned Gladio. It was just an arrangement— his safety for Ignis. Nothing more. If he wanted to distance himself from them, Gladio would be the last one to complain. 

It had been so long since Gladio had slept under the stars. Ignis moved closer to rest his head on his chest and Gladio brought an arm around him.

“So that’s what the sky looks like,” Ignis murmured, and Gladio chuckled dryly. 

“Been way too long since we’ve seen it, huh?”

Ignis nodded. 

Gladio took a deep breath, just enjoying the closeness. “I’ve been thinking,” he said. 

He could feel the flutter of Ignis’ eyelashes against his chest. “Yes?”

“I’ve heard Altissia’s beautiful. I bet they’ve got some nice rings there, too. Maybe we could pick a couple out when we get there? What do you say?”

“Gladiolus.” Ignis tilted his head up to look at Gladio. “Are you proposing?”

Gladio swallowed. “Um. Yes? Maybe?”

Ignis quirked an eyebrow. “ _Maybe?_ ”

“Yes.” Gladio answered, his heart hammering in his chest. “Absolutely. I mean, if you’ll have me?”

Ignis held his gaze for a moment, long enough for Gladio to wonder if maybe he’d asked too suddenly. That maybe Ignis wasn’t ready, or maybe he thought— 

Ignis leaned in, quieting Gladio’s racing thoughts with a kiss. “I would love nothing more,” he answered. “Yes.”

He wasn’t sure whether or not the others were asleep, but he didn’t really care. He adjusted himself so they could kiss again, a bit easier this time. “First thing though when we get to Altissia, I’m going to make you the best damn coffee you’ve ever tasted.”

Ignis exhaled, almost a breathy laugh. “I’d like that very much.”

“You got it.” Gladio ran a hand through his hair and pulled Ignis closer. “… What are we going to do about Ardyn?”

“We promised him safe passage. I suppose if we don’t bother him, he won’t bother us.”

“He killed Cindy. I bet he killed whoever was living in that house we found him in, too. He was the reason we lost…” he gritted his teeth. “Noctis. We can’t let a guy like that roam free. Not after everything he’s done.”

Ignis sighed. “Let’s not try our luck. We’ve all killed people, Gladio. I don’t trust him, but he has done as he promised and helped me. I wouldn’t be in the position I am now if not for his assistance. I know you’re wary of him. After this, I’m sure we’ll never have to see him again.” 

“All right,” Gladio relented. He leaned back, the stars twinkling brightly above them. It was the first time in a long time that Gladio felt full and warm and safe.


	40. Chapter 40

“Hey, up and at ‘em,” Crowe said, nudging Gladio with the toe of her boot. “We’ve got another long day ahead of us if we want to make it to the harbor before nightfall.” She paused. “… And it looks like we’ve got company. We’ll want to scoot.”

Prompto bolted upright to Gladio’s left. “Where did they come from?” He asked.

Gladio groaned, rubbing his eyes as he sat up. He could see Ardyn sitting over by the fire they’d lit last night, now long gone out. He wondered how long he had been up. And then past Ardyn, just a ways out from the haven, he saw what Crowe and Prompto were talking about.

A horde of at least a hundred Infected gathering nearby, watching them. 

Gladio scrambled to his feet and swiped up his greatsword. “Where the hell did they come from?” He asked, trying to keep the waver out of his voice. 

“Don’t know. Must have shown up while we were asleep. We’re lucky they didn’t get any closer.” Crowe turned to raise an eyebrow at Ardyn. “Do we have you to thank for that?”

“Perhaps,” Ardyn said.

Gladio wanted to run over and force the truth from him, but he was sure Ignis would try to stop him from antagonizing him further. 

Thankfully, Ardyn continued. “At least for making sure they don’t get closer to us. They know what’s in their best interest.”

Gladio narrowed his eyes. The Infected didn’t appear to be getting any closer. They just stood there… waiting. For Ardyn to feed them, maybe?

He reached out to help Ignis to his feet. “How are you doing?” He asked. “I wish we could check your arm again before shoving off, but it doesn’t look like we’ve got time.”

“I’ll manage,” Ignis replied. “We mustn’t slow down on my account.”

Iris slipped over to Gladio with a worried expression on her face. “What do you think they’re doing?” She whispered. “Every time they’ve just _stared_ at us like this, it’s always ended up bad. They’re definitely planning something.”

Gladio frowned. “They’re watching us. Or Ardyn. Can’t tell. Better keep an eye on them.”

Prompto gathered up the chocobos. “Let’s hurry and get outta here,” he said. “The chocobos can run fast, but they might get tired and the Infected won’t.” He paused. “Should we kill some of them to show them we mean business?”

“I wouldn’t antagonize them,” Ardyn chimed in. “They aren’t doing anything.”

“Yet.” Crowe hopped onto her chocobo. “We can pick them off if they follow us. We’ve got guns, and those Infected don’t. Shoot ‘em as we run.”

“Exactly what I was about to say,” Ignis said. 

Crowe nodded. She waited for the others to climb onto their chocobos, surprisingly calm despite having so many Infected lurking around the haven. Gladio tried to settle his nerves as he patted his chocobo and then situated himself on her back.

Crowe may not have appeared nervous, but the chocobos seemed to be a bit on edge, all watching the Infected intently as if trying to gauge the threat. 

Once everyone had climbed on, Crowe took a deep breath. “Ready to book it?” She asked. “They’re probably going to start chasing us the moment we make any sudden movements.”

Gladio nodded. “I know. We gotta move quick”

Sure enough, the moment the chocobos started to run, the Infected sprang into action, chasing after them. Gladio noticed his chocobo glancing backwards at the Infected several times as they ran. He could only hope that the Infected would eventually realize they weren’t worth the chase. 

Crowe glanced back at them over her shoulder. “Try and kill as many as you can, Prompto,” she said. “Might be hard with them moving and us moving, but the more you can get off our trail the better.”

“Got it.” Prompto shifted himself on the chocobo so he was facing backwards and readied his gun. “Gonna start dropping these suckers in three… two…”

***

Ignis looked exhausted. They probably should have given him painkillers and checked his arm again before riding, but they all knew there had been no time. 

Despite Prompto killing as many as he could, the Infected still didn’t seem to let up. Gladio glanced back every so often, his concern only growing when the Infected kept after them. He’d fully expected them to have given up by now. 

Prompto hung near Gladio, pausing in his killing of Infected to pet his chocobo, likely in the hopes that it would soothe her and keep her from spooking with the Infected in pursuit. “You think they’re after Ardyn?” Prompto asked, shooting another one.

Gladio shook his head. “I don’t know. Don’t even know where they came from.” He sighed. 

“I can’t keep doing this,” Prompto groaned. “I’ll run out of bullets. And it’s harder now that they _know_ I’m trying to kill them, you know?” 

And it didn’t help either that Prompto was on a moving chocobo firing at moving and erratic targets. No one could blame him for missing his mark a few times. 

“Yeah. It doesn’t look like you’re hitting as many now that they know what we’re trying to do,” he said. “They’re making me nervous. And with Iggy…”

Prompto holstered his gun. Bit his lip. “Iggy knows the risks. We shouldn’t doubt him. He wouldn’t doubt any of us.”

He was right— Ignis probably wouldn’t doubt them. But he wasn’t Ignis. And he was just worried. Every time Gladio glanced back, he could see the Infected still pursuing them. Like they were waiting for them to slow. Or perhaps they were expecting something. Perhaps they were expecting something from _Ardyn_.

Turning his eyes back on the chancellor, he looked completely unfazed by the undead that were still after them. It just made Gladio even more suspicious. There was no way he didn’t have something to do with this. 

Ardyn chose that moment to make eye contact with him. “Can I help you?” He asked.

“I don’t know,” Gladio shot back. “You gonna tell those Infected to quit followin’ us?”

Ardyn scoffed. “Surely you don’t think I had anything to do with this?”

“Did you?” Gladio asked. 

“Certainly not.”

He didn’t believe Ardyn. But he had no proof, and once they got to the harbor, they’d hop on the boat and get out of there. Which meant they’d either kill the Infected or leave them behind. But he was on edge, and Ardyn knew he was on edge. He hated that. 

Gladio narrowed his eyes. “Just throw them something. I know you got body parts in your bag. Throw something to them and get them off our trail.”

“Why, then they’d surely follow us, don’t you think? They follow the food, after all.”

“And right now, _we’re_ the food,” Gladio snapped. “Just give them something. Distract them so we can lose them.”

“I’m fresh out, I’m afraid,” Ardyn said, without looking the least bit sorry. 

Gladio didn’t know how many body parts he’d had in that bag of his at any point— and he was kicking himself for not checking. If Ignis hadn’t been injured, he’d probably have insisted Ardyn show them every last thing in that little bag of his. And if anything went unaccounted for, Ignis would take note. 

But with just Gladio having to handle things on his own, he hadn’t thought to do that. And if he was being entirely honest with himself, he hadn’t wanted to see. Six, he should’ve known better. But blaming himself for that now wouldn’t do him any good.

“Gladio,” Crowe called over her shoulder. “You got any food you could pass around? Might as well eat while we ride. Can’t really risk stopping for it.”

Gladio reached into his bag. “Just some vegetables we didn’t use for dinner last night,” he said. “They’ve been sitting in my bag though. Can’t speak to how clean they are.”

“I’ve eaten worse,” Crowe said. “I’m sure you lot have, too.”

“We have,” Iris agreed. “We were surviving off of hardly anything. We’ll take your bag-vegetables, Gladdy.”

Gladio pulled two potatoes out of his bag. “Catch.” He threw them to Iris, who frantically reached out to catch them, nearly missing. “One’s for you, other’s for Iggy.”

“Got it.” Iris passed the other potato to Ignis while Gladio tossed the others some of their other unused vegetables. It wasn’t much, but even a day old, it was fresher than what they’d been having lately. 

“Iggy,” Gladio said, as he took a bite. “Bet they’ll have lots of good recipes and fresh ingredients in Altissia.”

Ignis nodded. “I would believe so. Altissia has a reputation for its excellent seafood and beautiful sights. It will certainly be welcome after this.”

Gladio nodded. “Sure will.”

Iris raised her arms over her head to stretch, which earned her a stern look from Ignis until she put one hand back on the chocobo to steady herself. “I can’t wait for a shower,” she sighed, dreamily. “And brand new clothes.”

“Have to get money for it first,” Gladio replied. “I read in one of my books that the currency is different outside of Insomnia.”

“Maybe we can take some jobs around town,” Prompto suggested. “I could sell some photos, rake in some easy cash. We can get some clean clothes and a hotel.”

Gladio nodded. “Yeah. We could do that. Can’t wait to get outta these clothes.”

“We stink,” Iris said emphatically. “Kind of get used to it after a while, but Altissia isn’t ready for the nastiness that will be us strolling into town.”

Prompto laughed. Gladio chose to ignore how forced it sounded. “I almost can’t believe we’re actually on our way.”

If he was being honest with himself, Gladio didn’t really believe it either. “How far is the harbor?” He asked. 

“From here?” Crowe frowned in concentration. “Five hours maybe? How are the Infected looking?”

“Still coming,” Gladio told her. “Still a lot. Can’t use up all our ammo in case we run into some more trouble.”

“Damn,” Crowe muttered under her breath. “They’re not usually this persistent.” 

Unless they had a reason to be, which Gladio was growing more and more suspicious of. “Guess we just have to hope they get bored and find something else that’s not us,” he said. 

The silence that fell upon the group told him that they thought that was just as unlikely as he did. 

***

“We’re close,” Crowe said. “How many of them are still out there?”

“A good number,” Prompto replied, with a heavy sigh. “They’ve never followed us this long before. They’ve always given up. Was really hoping they would’ve this time, too.”

“You and me both, pal,” Crowe grumbled.

Gladio turned his gaze back toward Ardyn, who was pointedly ignoring him this time. He had been the only one who hadn’t traveled with them before other than Crowe, and he knew she wouldn’t have any reason to keep the Infected chasing after them. 

“Ardyn,” he said, gruffly. “How do we lose them?”

Ardyn raised an eyebrow. “You expect me to know that?”

“I do, yeah,” Gladio snapped.

“Your guess is as good as mine.”

He glanced over at Ignis, who was watching Ardyn just as intently as Gladio was. It was comforting at least to know he wasn’t the only one doubting Ardyn’s ignorance.

“Look up there,” Iris breathed, pointing at a tunnel up ahead as they rode up to it. It engulfed them all in darkness.

“This is the final tunnel,” Crowe said. “Cape Caem is just ahead. That’s where the harbor is. There’s a lighthouse— I’m sure we’ll know it when we see it.”

Gladio had been able to smell the sea before, but in the tunnel it was even stronger. He inhaled, blinking back his grogginess. He’d be able to sleep on the boat— if they could just shake those Infected. He wouldn’t put it past them to swim across the whole damn ocean if they knew it would earn them a meal. He hoped they could kill enough of them to convince the surviving ones that it wasn’t worth it.

“I’m kinda surprised other people haven’t come out this way,” Prompto said. “It seems like it’d be the perfect place to lay low.”

“No one really knows about the ship,” Crowe replied. “Cor said the King had docked it there in secret. He only told a select few trustworthy people. Even us Glaives didn’t know.”

“If we take the boat, Cor and Aranea won’t have a way to reach us,” Gladio said.

A heavy silence fell over the group. Gladio knew he was putting everyone on edge by bringing that up ahead, but he still wanted to believe they would make it. 

Crowe sighed. “We have to be grateful for what they did for us. We never would have gotten this far if they hadn’t taken down all those Infected in the city. They would have followed us. Torn us to shreds.”

He knew that. But it still didn’t stop him from saying, “When we organize to send people back here, either to wipe out Infected or cure people, we can look for ‘em.”

“Yeah,” Crowe replied. “For sure.”

The sun was bright when they reached the other side of the tunnel, and Gladio squinted up at the sight ahead of them— large rocks and a path with a railing that led up to a lighthouse. 

“Wow,” Iris breathed. “That’s beautiful.”

Crowe nodded. “It is. But if what Cor said was right, the important part is what’s below the lighthouse. That’s where we’re going to find the harbor.”

Iris was right. The lighthouse was beautiful. As the rode closer, Gladio could make out a run-down house at the top of the hill. He knew the likelihood of people living there was slim, but even just the possibility of running into more people (or Infected) made him nervous. 

“Let’s make it quick,” he said. 

As they started up toward the winding path, Ardyn let out a gasp. “Oh, my!” 

Gladio turned to glance back at Ardyn as his chocobo came to a screeching halt, nearly throwing Ardyn off. He tried to regain his hold, but the chocobo was squawking and clearly spooked. He must have grabbed her too tightly— a chunk of feathers tore out in his hand, and the chocobo succeeded in shaking him off with one more angry cry. 

Once Ardyn hit on the ground, his chocobo raced off in the opposite direction. The panic frightened the rest of the birds too, and they let out distressed squawks, shaking and flapping their wings.

“We have to jump off or they’ll throw us!” Crowe shouted, as Gladio struggled to hang onto his chocobo. 

She was set on getting him off her back, apparently, and as he jumped off his chocobo, he could see Iris and Ignis’ throw them off as well, the two of them toppling to the ground, Ignis’ glasses slipping off his face as they both landed hard.

The rest of the birds took one glance toward the Infected before racing after Ardyn’s. Everything was a flurry of feathers, and as Gladio got his bearings, he could see the Infected gaining on them. 

“We have to hoof it!” Crowe screamed from up ahead. “Hurry it up!”

Prompto’s eyes were wide as he watched the retreating forms of the chocobos. “I was gonna bring them with us!”

“They’ll be fine!” Gladio shouted back. He locked arms with Prompto, glancing around to get eyes on Iris and Ignis. 

Ardyn was already approaching Ignis and Iris by the time Gladio spotted them. He was reaching down, extending a hand to help Ignis to his feet. 

Ignis reached out to take Ardyn’s hand, but Iris waved her hands as Ardyn approached. “Wait, stop!”

Ardyn didn’t. He took a step closer, his boot crunching down on something. 

Iris groaned as Ardyn drew back in surprise. He lifted his boot, eyebrows drawing up in shock as he glanced upon the shattered pieces of Ignis’ glasses. “Oh, dear,” he murmured, “I must have misstepped.” 

Ignis gritted his teeth. “I’ll be fine,” he said, narrowing his eyes at Ardyn. “Don’t worry about me. Get to the lighthouse.”

Gladio hurried over, putting himself between the three of them. He pulled Ignis to his feet, ignoring his protests of being fully capable of standing himself. 

“We don’t have time,” Gladio exclaimed. “Iggy. Iris. Come on.” He and Prompto booked it up the hill after Crowe, glancing back once to make sure the other two and Ardyn were keeping up.

Crowe ran through the open doorway, and Gladio cursed the lack of door as he followed her inside.

“Now what?” He asked. “The elevator ain’t gonna work!”

“There should be a door!” Crowe called back, the howling of the Infected growing closer as they followed the group up the hill to the lighthouse. Crowe turned to face them, throwing herself in front of the open doorway. “Hurry and find it! I’ll hold them off!”

Gladio turned and grabbed Crowe’s arm. “No way. I’m not letting you die for us,” he snapped. “You’re coming.”

“But the Infected!” Crowe protested, as Gladio dragged her away from the Infected and into further into the room.

“Guys, I found the door!” Prompto pointed to a door partially obscured by some boxes. “Over there! It’s gotta lead to the basement!”

He started to dart over to it, but Ardyn got there first. He shoved Prompto hard, sending him toppling to the floor before stepping in front of the door himself, one hand on the handle and efficiently blocking their path.

“I thank you all for bringing me here, but I’m afraid this is where we part ways,” Ardyn said. “You see, I haven’t been entirely honest with you all. I do, in fact, have but one piece of meat left.” He pulled a severed hand from his bag, waving it in front of them and the Infected. “Well. For now.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To everyone who was suspicious and knew something was coming, you were totally right!

**Author's Note:**

> Updates will be every Sunday!


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